


Altered Memories

by CB_Magique



Series: Compilation of the Heart [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aftermath, Destiny Islands, Drama, Family Issues, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Kingdom Hearts II, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-10 17:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 62,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4400042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CB_Magique/pseuds/CB_Magique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After finally returning to the Destiny Islands, Sora begins to feel the consequences of memory manipulation by Naminé and Organisation XIII. Settling down after such a big adventure is hard enough but it's so much worse with his restored memories still in a bit of disarray. But since everyone believes that he's simply been on holiday, he has time to try to work out the scrambled parts of his heart. </p><p>Meanwhile, Riku has returned to a world that remembered him all along and he has no idea how to explain his betrayal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sora and the Blue Box

**Author's Note:**

> I'm transfering it here from fanfiction.net, which will be great for you guys because you'll miss out on all of the hiatuses that this story suffered. I'm also doing some mild editing as I post here, so it'll be a bit nicer to read as well.

It was an odd sensation – standing in front of his house again. Sora cocked his head to the side, wondering if the house had always been so small. From the front it looked more like a little, wooden, blue box with a dark grey roof but he knew that at the back there was a veranda and a balcony over that. It was still just a big blue rectangle, though. As he approached the front door he was overcome with the impression that it was far too quiet. There was a niggling in the back of his mind, nagging him to remember something special about this house. Or was it something special about whoever lived inside the house? As his fingers curled around the black wrought iron door handle he paused. Who lived in this house again? Aside from himself, of course. He remembered living in this big (or was it little?) blue box but he couldn't live here by himself. He let go of the door handle and stood back on his heels, pondering for a moment. He should remember who lived there; he hadn't been gone that long. Sora shut his eyes and grabbed his chin, trying to think about who he lived with. He had parents, he was pretty sure but that was a given unless he was an orphan. Although he couldn't imagine a child living in this house by themselves. But there was still something missing, something familiar that he thought he should remember but somehow didn't.

Eventually he decided that he had to stop thinking about it. The more he thought the more confused he became and he wasn't finding any answers by just standing in front of the house. He grabbed the handle again and opened the door. It was unlocked. Sora blinked at the slightly ajar white, wooden door and suddenly felt a rush of epiphany as if he'd found a correct piece in a jigsaw puzzle and all of a sudden a whole bunch of other random pieces that didn't seem to make any sense all fit together. Yes, the door was unlocked and that was normal. In fact, everyone's door was unlocked. He could go up to any house anywhere on the island probably and let himself in if he really wanted to but at the moment the only house he wanted to let himself into was this blue box.

Sora pushed the door open further and stepped inside. There was no hall or welcoming front room of sorts. The house in nearly all of its entirely was immediately laid out before him in that first step. A tidal wave of blurry memories that seemed so trivial and irrelevant sped through his heart and mind as his eyes panned the house in front of him. There was just a big room. Two low-hanging ceiling fans spun slowly, one of them clicked incessantly in a way that irritated Sora. To his right there was a small two-person sofa in front of a TV and the space between them was filled with a mess of paper, crayons, building blocks and toy animals. Behind the sofa was an opaque sliding door that Sora remembered led into the bathroom and laundry room. The staircase beside it went upstairs and beside that was the kitchen, enclosed by its benches rather than by walls. The back wall and door was all glass louvers and flyscreen and Sora could see right through it to the sand dunes and down to the sea crashing onto the beach. Upstairs wasn't so much of a second storey than a loft space with a little balcony overlooking the rest of the house and doors leading into three different rooms. To Sora's left was a very messy area dominated by shelves that were half full of books and sewing magazines and half full of rolls of cloth and spools of string and wool. There were racks for clothes and a disorganised desk in front of a large window with needles and pin cushions and chalk and scissors and measuring tape. A chair was tucked in under the desk in front of a pedal-operated sewing machine.

Suddenly Sora realised exactly what he'd been missing; the thing that he should have remembered but didn't. That sewing machine. It was normally running most of the day. From morning to evening with only small breaks in between there was the constant rhythmic hum of the machine whirring steadily with the guidance of a well-practised seamstress. It should be running but it wasn't and that probably meant that whoever was supposed to be running it wasn't around.

Sora closed the door behind him and walked further into the house, looking up at the balcony. One of those rooms was his. He jogged up the stairs and looked down the little balcony hall. There were two doors along it and one at the end. Memories that he didn't know he had forgotten were returning with each step he took (or maybe he hadn't really forgotten, he just never thought about them and suddenly it felt strange to start thinking about them again). His room was the middle door. He turned the handle and threw the door open fully.

Everything was the same as he remembered and a little bit different. He still had the same bed, the same shelves, the same desk, the same toys and the same wallpaper. Everything was the same colour as he remembered it being. What was different though, was the state of things. He remembered leaving his room in a disorganised state. There were clothes and toys on the floor, shelves with nothing shelved in any particular order or with any attention to detail or neatness and there was a rather distinctive odour that he quite liked. He couldn't quite describe that odour; the only word that would even come close to a description of it was 'him'. Sora's room smelled like him. Although, memories resurfacing from the back of his mind showed him the face of an upset older woman looking down at him a bit crossly and telling him that his room smelled 'offensive'. Now it smelled clean. Brand new. There was no trace of any scent that would mark this room as a place that anyone had ever lived in. Between the order of the toys and the desk, the bed with its neatly folded sheets and the general cleanliness of everything, the room just seemed to be a display – a mere remnant or snapshot of something that was once there.

The familiar squeak of the front door being opened quickly and the sound of shuffling reached his ears. He turned around and looked over the rail of the balcony. A woman carrying two paper grocery bags in one arm was holding the door open for a small, red-headed girl in pigtails who was also carrying two bags, one in each arm. The woman let the door swing shut noisily and adjusted the bags so that she was carrying one in each arm. Sora thought that they were strangers to him but felt that he should know them well. Too many memories were playing in his head to make sense of any of them and he wasn't able to think before he blurted out something that somehow felt completely natural:

"Mom!"

The woman looked up and froze. Her eyes locked on Sora's and her arms suddenly went limp, dropping the brown paper bags she was holding.

"S-Sora?" she stuttered, blinking her eyes tightly and thinking that she was probably hallucinating.

Her voice was met in Sora's mind with an echo from a long time ago – the same voice saying the same thing to him. Sounds and images were whizzing past each other at incomprehensible speeds in his head so his only option was to trust his instinct and blurt out another poorly thought out sentence that also felt like a natural thing to say:

"You were gone all this time and you left the fans on?" Sora exclaimed incredulously.

The woman reached to her chest with both hands and clutched her heart. Sora's eyes widened when he saw her face distort in anguish and tears flow freely from her eyes. "Oh my gosh… Sora."


	2. Riku and the Cage

Riku glared at the dense, dark green foliage in front of him, wishing that he could just set it on fire. He glanced up and down the shady and deserted street. It was lined on each side by tall, dense vegetation. Walking through this side of town was almost like walking through the jungle. Riku sighed and looked down at the edge of the forest in front of him, scanning the junction between the plants and the road until he found what he was looking for: a brightly coloured mosaic tile. They were dotted all along the roadside on this street and others like it, all marking a bright path into the thick vegetation. This path was made of loose blue gravel. The colours of the mosaic and the colour of the gravel marked this as the right place. No matter how hard Riku had tried to forget about it, he could still remember every detail.

The gravel crunched under his feet as he walked up the path. It stopped abruptly at a small, lush, bright green lawn and in front of him stood the building that he had dreaded seeing again. It was a square one-storey house with wide eaves that was slightly raised off the ground so that it had to be accessed by the wooden steps leading up to the front veranda. It was angled oddly so that the front of the house was actually the corner with the veranda taking a sharp turn around it. At first glance there appeared to be no front door, just a wall made of wrought iron that was moulded to look like curling vines with a flower bud appearing every now and again. The walls on either side of the veranda were arranged in a zigzag alternating between patterned wire mesh and solid wall.

Riku crossed the lawn and climbed the stairs apprehensively, wiping his feet on a mat on the edge of the veranda before walking up to the corner of the curly bars. He wrapped his fingers around the barely noticeable handles and a short tug was all that was needed to pull two smaller rectangular pieces of the wall away and slide them apart. The inside of the house was dark, as it always was. The main area of the house was open and spacious but all around there were opaque closed doors leading into rooms, halls and cupboards. The kitchen at the back of the house followed the sharp bend and the imposing jungle that surrounded the building could be seen through the awning windows. There was no television in this part of the house, just the bamboo furniture – padded with bright, multicoloured cushions and pillows – that surrounded a glass top table upon which there was a tasteful flower arrangement in a vase. There was no lack of art in the house. Between all the doors and sometimes even above them there were paintings, prints and sculptures. All of it was contemporary.

As well as the darkness there was silence and stillness in the house, which meant that either nobody was home or one other person was home and refused to be seen for now. That suited Riku just fine. He sat down on one of the sofas and leaned his arms on his knees, staring blankly at nothing. Even though he left the doors wide open he still somehow felt trapped.

Laughter and shouting broke through his thoughts and he stood up abruptly. He slowly walked over to the doors and stared out over the lawn to the edge of the path. The laughter came closer and closer until a small child broke through the foliage and raced across the lawn holding an ice cream stick tightly in one hand. He was chased by an older, taller child who was crying as he yelled for the younger one to give back what he took. The smaller boy got halfway across the lawn when he spotted Riku and halted, staring in awe at the tall, dark figure standing in the doorway. The older boy snatched the ice cream stick from the younger boy and wiped his tears with his hands. He was about to snap at the smaller boy until he noticed the wide-eyed stare in Riku's direction and turned. His own face contorted into very much the same expression. Another boy – a middle child – appeared at the edge of the path. He took one step onto the lawn and stopped there, noticing what was going on immediately and staring directly at Riku, even though the teenager's position in the shadows of the house made him difficult to see.

Riku stepped onto the veranda to get closer to the boys. They didn't move. In moving closer to the light the glare of the sun on their features diminished and he could see all of the detail and colour in their faces. They were all pale and silver-haired, just like him. All three of them had the same shade of blue-green eyes, the same shade as Riku's. The eldest boy had short, wiry hair, the middle child had long hair with a fringe that almost obscured his eyes and the youngest boy had longish hair that partially veiled his face. Riku remembered them all so well.

He smiled awkwardly and waved to them, stepping off the veranda. The three boys all took a step back. Riku stopped. They remembered him, he could tell by the looks on their faces but perhaps they didn't believe what they were seeing.

"Hey, guys…" Riku finally said. "It's just me. It's Riku."

"Big brother?" the youngest boy said.

Riku chuckled slightly and put his hands on his hips. "Looks like you haven't been good while I was away, Kadaj. You're still picking on Loz," he admonished. He had hated this job; babysitting these three. He really hated it but seeing them again after so long – seeing them _okay_ – caused his heart to burst with relief and joy.

The eldest boy sniffled and held up the ice cream stick he now had, showing the dark 'winner' sign scored into the wood. "He was going to steal my prize."

Riku sighed. He now remembered why he hated being the oldest brother. "Loz, you're six years older than Kadaj and twice as big. You shouldn't let him p-"

The youngest boy – Kadaj – suddenly bowled himself into Riku's legs, wrapping his arms around them to prevent the oldest boy from going anywhere. "I hate you! You shouldn't leave us!" He bit into Riku's left leg, digging his teeth as deeply as he could.

"Ouch! You little…!" Riku growled, tearing Kadaj off by the hair.

"That's what you get for leaving us," Kadaj said, sticking his tongue out at Riku.

Loz approached slowly and wrapped his arms around Riku's waist gingerly. "We thought you were never coming back and you left us here alone."

Riku sighed, letting Kadaj's attack slide for now and putting a hand on Loz's head. "You weren't alone."

"We might as well have been," said the third boy. Riku stared at him in shock. It always amazed him that that one could move around without anybody noticing, even when he was in plain sight. He stood right in front of them, looking up expressionlessly. "We really hate you."

"Yeah and I've always hated you guys too," Riku replied, letting go of Kadaj's hair and gesturing for the third boy to come and join the hug. He accepted the offer and took Riku's other side, throwing his arms over Riku's hips. "I'm back, Yazoo. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings."

"You didn't hurt my feelings," Yazoo retorted. "Can't say the same for Loz, though."

Loz tried to hold himself back but he was still bawling into Riku's shirt and jacket.

"Sorry guys," he muttered.

"Riku," a sharp voice cut across the lawn, startling all three boys, even though it wasn't that loud. They turned their heads to the house where a new figure was lurking in the shadow of the doorway. "Welcome home."

Riku wrapped his arms more tightly around his brothers, feeling a protective instinct to pick them up and run. However, Kadaj smiled and poked his head around his oldest brother's legs to say:

"Hi dad! We're home too."


	3. Sora's Sweet Memories I

Sora hurried down the stairs as his mother broke into tears. By the time he had reached her she was already bending down to pick up her dropped groceries. The little girl also put down her burdens and was starting to place fruit and vegetables back into one of the bags. Sora crouched down by the other bag and started to gather the shopping before his mother could start.

"Don't worry, mom, I got this," he said with a grin.

His mother stared at him, jaw hanging as though she didn't believe her own eyes. The prolonged gawking gave the impression that she was even too afraid to blink lest this really be an illusion. He looked away uncomfortably, focussing on putting the shopping back into their bags. A gentle hand on his arm startled him just a little bit and he looked back at his mother. Her eyes were wide and tears fell freely as her grip tightened and loosened, the gentle squeezing reaffirming that what she was seeing was real.

"Sora… you're home. I…"

"Mom, it's okay," Sora tried to assure her.

"B-but…" she sobbed. "You were gone. Where were you?"

"Um… I was around," Sora replied vaguely.

"But you weren't."

"It's fine, mom." Sora put his hand over the one that was squeezing his arm. His giant hand almost engulfed her smaller hands entirely. She was an odd one on the island. Large hands and feet were quite normal among the population, although Sora stood out for his ridiculously exaggerated proportions. His mother also stood out for her abnormally diminutive proportions, especially for someone as tall as her. Her son smiled at her. "I'm home again. Everything's cool. We should put this stuff away right now."

Sora swept the rest of the groceries into their bags and picked one up. His mother picked up the other and they both stood. She smiled down at him and shifted the shopping bag into one arm so that she could wrap the other around Sora and rest her chin on his head.

"Okay, that's fine for now, then," she said. "You're back and for now that's all I need."

She looked down at him and Sora looked up at her with a grin. She nodded her head towards the kitchen and began to make her way over there. Sora's smile dropped off his face and was replaced with an expression of curiosity and awe. "I can't believe that…" he muttered.

"What?" asked the little girl, looking up at Sora.

Sora turned to her suddenly and blinked. He'd forgotten she was there in that short time. He turned back to his mother, already busy filling the cupboards and the refrigerator. "I grew so much this past year and my mom is _still_ taller than me."

* * *

Later that evening, Sora was in his room again, listening to the steady whir of the sewing machine that he'd almost forgotten combined with the crashing waves of the ocean right outside. He was finding that he room wasn't exactly the way he had left it. His mother had rearranged quite a few things while he was gone and Sora was now tasked with finding – and remembering – all of his books, toys and clothes (there was a stack of homework from a year ago that hadn't even been started). The clothes definitely had to go. They were all too small for him now, even his favourite shirt, which greatly dismayed him. The shirt was too big at the time that he left and that often garnered many complaints from his mother but he'd hoped to grow into it soon. He'd already grown out of it by the time he returned. The toys and books brought a smile to his face though. He felt like a child again, looking at them all. When his body grew inside the pod he supposed his brain must have grown a lot with it because he felt too old for this stuff. He re-shelved his books and toys, leaving his adventure journal in amongst them, and turned around.

One toy caught his eye. A wooden ship hanging from the ceiling fan. He dragged his desk chair across the floor and parked it underneath, then stood on the seat so that he could look at it up close. He wondered why his mother hadn't put it away – it wasn't dusty so he knew she must have cleaned it too. Maybe she had thought that it belonged there or it looked fine right where it was. The female and male dolls that he had left hanging over the rails when he went away were relocated to a chest at the end of his bed but the boat remained. Sora knew he had to take it down, though; he wouldn't be able to use his fan otherwise. He found a pair of scissors to cut the string holding it up and brought it down to eye-level, fondly recalling why it was up there:

_Some days before they had finished building the raft, Sora, Kairi and Riku were spending a rainy day inside. They had gathered at Sora's house for lunch while the fat, grey clouds clumped overhead and hoped that they would be able to get away to the play island before it began to rain but the downpour came so fast and so suddenly. They hadn't even finished lunch yet. In any case, Sora's mother forbade them to go outside, let alone to get in a boat on the sea, so Sora's bedroom was the last haven._

_Riku gazed out of Sora's window and grumbled. "Stupid rain. I want to go and finish our raft."_

" _Mom said we can't," Sora reminded him, searching around his chest, pulling out a toy sword. "So the only place left is here. I've got one for you too." Sora tossed another toy sword on the bed where Riku was kneeling in front of the window._

" _Hey, Sora, what's this?" Kairi asked, pulling a certain object down from the top shelf._

" _That's a ship," Sora replied, standing up. "Dad built for me when I was little."_

" _It's great. I wonder if we could build a ship."_

" _We can't build a ship," Riku interjected. "We would need heaps of workers and lots of wood, steel and a special kind of canvas for the sails."_

" _I know_ we _can't build a ship," Kairi said, "but what if we got to a world where we met a princess or a queen and became friends with them. Would they build us a ship?"_

" _Definitely!" Sora grinned. "And then we could sail to all of the worlds easily and have big adventures." Sora swung his sword around playfully. "And there's going to be one world where I become the hero after saving a town from a giant multi-headed monster!"_

" _Sora, this isn't a game," Riku reminded him. "You wouldn't be able to defeat a big monster by yourself."_

_Sora pouted at Riku. The older boy sometimes thought that his best friends didn't believe that they were really going to travel to another world. Kairi and Sora exchanged glances and Riku sighed. The playful atmosphere was killed, making the air feel heavy and sodden, just like outside. Riku's gaze travelled across his knees to the sword beside him. Struck with an idea, he picked it up._

" _You can't defeat a big monster by yourself because you'll need my help," he declared, standing up on the bed and brandishing his sword. "But I think the most likely place that a giant multi-headed monster would be hiding is under the sea."_

_Sora and Kairi laughed jovially._

" _Sure! And that's how we'll get our ship," Sora added. He took two white ragdolls from his chest and propped them up against the rails of the ship in Kairi's hands. "We're sailing along on our raft and then all of a sudden we hear a cry for help across the sea."_

" _We turn around and then there's this huge, magnificent ship belonging to a noble," Kairi continued the story, taking the boat and rocking it as she ran around the room, "but it's being attacked by a ferocious sea monster!"_

_She grabbed a blue lizard plush toy and chucked it unceremoniously onto the deck of the boat. Sora lifted his sword._

" _I'll save you!" he shouted, leaping forward and stabbing the lizard, pushing it helplessly off the ship's deck. Kairi giggled._

" _We're saved! We're saved!" she said in a high-pitched voice, meant to be the voice of the dolls. She moved their little heads as they talked. "Thank-you so much, kind warrior. You're our hero."_

" _It was nothing."_

_Riku saw the need for a new character in the story and pulled Sora's sheet off the bed, wrapping it around himself like a cloak. "Ha! Did you think it was going to be that easy? I am the Dark Lord Mercutio! That was my monster you vanquished."_

" _Hey, what happened to you helping me defeat the monster?" Sora interrupted._

" _Seems like you defeated it just fine on your own," Riku said with a smirk. Sora was still frowning at him though. "Oh, c'mon! It's just a game, right? And now I, Dark Lord Mercutio, will use my magic to sink this ship!"_

" _No!" Sora screamed theatrically, jumping in front of the boat just as Riku pointed his sword at it._

_Kairi laughed. "Now you're sunk, Sora. You're going to have to defeat the Dark Lord if you want to get above the sea again. These people could still be in danger, you know."_

" _Huzzah!" Riku shouted, pointed his sword at Kairi. The girl gawked at Riku. "I just turned the hero's girlfriend into a sea monster too. If you want her back you'll have to get through me."_

" _No way, Riku, that's evil, even for a game," Sora complained blushing at the role that Riku had arbitrarily given Kairi. He gave the girl a worried look as though she really would suddenly turn into a monster now._

" _Why am I the 'girlfriend'? Why couldn't I be the sidekick?" Kairi protested._

" _Too late, we've already written the story," Riku said. "But you can be the girlfriend-sidekick once Sora defeats the Dark Lord Mercutio. For now, you're a monster."_

_Kairi sighed but was for the most part content with the compromise. She took Sora's desk chair and a piece of string from his drawers to the centre of the room. She stood on the chair while she tied the boat to the ceiling fan, leaving the dolls in place. When she got down she quickly pushed the chair to the side and got down into a feral position, nails bared like claws and teeth gnashed._

" _Why'd you put it up there?" Sora asked._

" _Because we're underwater, remember? The boat is above us. Now just play the story," Kairi urged._

" _I'll never let you get away with this!" Sora yelled at Riku in mock. He and Riku jumped forward and their swords clashed._

" _Sora! Help us! The monster is attacking!" Kairi squeaked, jumping as high as she could to bat at the ship._

" _You guys are ganging up on me! This is no fair!" Sora whined._

" _Tough," Riku retorted. "If you want to be a hero on the high seas you have to learn that they won't always fight fair out there."_

" _And you still have to be able to win," Kairi agreed._

" _Alright! Fine!" Sora decided and lunged for Kairi, swinging his sword at her. She broke into peals of laughter as she ran from his wooden weapon. He then turned and gripped the handle with both hands, slashing at Riku. The silver-haired boy blocked it but the loud clack of wood on wood showed that there was more power behind this attack. The boys began a swordfight in Sora's little room with Kairi standing at the sidelines only occasionally remembering to pretend to be a monster._

_An hour later the rain had slowed but didn't stop. They had already had enough of playing their game and any of the other games that they could think of. Kairi got up from a game of pick-up-sticks and left Sora's room, leaning over the balcony rail to call down to the woman on the sewing machine._

" _Hey,_ _ **…**_ _, I think the rain has almost stopped. Can we go out now?"_

" _It's still heavy," Sora's mother called back, "So no, especially since I know you're just going to get on a boat and go to the island. The sea is really rough right now."_

_Kairi sighed and returned to Sora's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. A quick deliberation followed in which the trio decided to sneak out through the window anyway and try to make it to the island._


	4. Riku Lies

"I thought that you'd never return," said the shadowy man on the veranda, walking out and stepping onto the stairs where he could be seen more clearly. He was a tall man and very intimidating despite his svelte figure. He was darkly tanned, unlike his boys who were all as pale as the moon and his long, silver hair was combed back out of his face and tied elegantly with a ribbon. "It's good to see you home."

"I'm sure it is," Riku snapped back bitterly.

"It seems that we're all in agreement then," the tall man said. He continued walking forward until he was standing only a foot in front of Riku. He stared and Riku glared – eye to eye. "My, my, you've grown. How old are you now?"

"Sixteen."

"Aiyai!" the man exclaimed, genuinely taken aback. "And you're so tall. You're going to be taller than me."

Riku snorted. He didn't like this small talk. The sun was still climbing higher and higher in the sky and it was now beating directly down on them, illuminating the lawn like an enormous spotlight in the jungle.

"It's quite hot out. We should go inside."

"Yeah," Kadaj agreed, letting go of Riku and running around his legs to hurry up to the veranda and go inside. Yazoo was the next to follow at a more easy-going pace. Loz reluctantly let go of Riku and tried to wipe more tears away as he went too but the eldest remained rooted on the spot.

"You really should come inside," Riku's father said. "You don't tan like your lucky friends, Riku."

Riku turned away sharply. "I'm leaving."

"So soon? But you've only just returned."

That had Riku rooted. He was being mocked. It was all he could do to not turn around and lash out.

"And exactly where have you been all this time?"

"Don't remember," Riku answered curtly.

"It would be a pity if you don't remember a year and a half of your life. Imagine… all of that time completely erased. And while you're still so young."

Riku's blood ran so hot that it started to freeze.

"So… how about the truth?"

"There's nothing else to say," Riku snapped. "I don't remember what happened and that's all there is to it."

He started to walk away but his father grabbed him by the arm with an iron grip. Riku turned and yanked his arm away. His father leaned back and narrowly dodged a fist to the face. His eyes went wide for a second before returning to the usual mildly amused expression he wore. "You're tall and strong… very strong. Now I'm very curious as to what you've been doing this past year and a half. Perhaps we can find a way to return your memories."

"I'm not interested in playing your games." Riku turned on his heel. "I'm going to see Sora and Kairi."

"Sora… oh! Right, Sora. He's been away too, hasn't he?" Riku's father remarked with a nod. Then, with genuine curiosity, he congenially asked: "Where has Sora been?"

Riku shrugged, his stare was fixed to the path leading away from the lawn to the street. "I don't know."

"He wasn't with you, was he?"

"No." Riku smirked because that just so happened to be true for the most part. "I'll be sure to ask him when I see him."

"Why don't you catch up with the family first? It's been a long time and the three little ones weren't really themselves without you, especially Kadaj."

This time Riku just marched away, unable to stand being civil to this man anymore.

* * *

Riku went all the way down to the pier on the beach. He surveyed the surroundings, checking out how much had changed. The pier had been lengthened and there were a couple of new houses in the area. The dunes had gotten a little bit bigger and a few boats were propped up against them. Two of those boats were half covered in sand. These were his and Sora's boats. It took a while but after ridding the inside of his boat of all of the sand, Riku got it back on the water. It seemed seaworthy; there were no tell-tale signs of leaking. Satisfied with that, he picked up his oars and rowed all the way to the small island.

Getting closer, Riku decided to float in the shallows for a moment and admire the island for a little while. Nothing had changed there. It was like a time warp, the island that was only ever populated by six children and was developed by their hands. It had started with the tree house. Sora's father had built that for them back when their parents didn't like the idea of them sailing across the sea to visit the island alone (that doesn't mean they never did that, though). Then Riku and Sora built their own little cubby house – the shack. Then Sora introduced Tidus to the island and the three of them built a pier. Tidus invited Wakka and the four of them built a bridge to the paupu islet. Then both Tidus and Wakka invited Selphie and then they started and somehow completed a very ambitious project to build a deck. Then Kairi fell from the sky…

Riku suddenly realised that the tide was dragging him away from the island. He gathered his oars and rowed all the way up to the pier. He moored his boat and noticed with a grimace that there was water at the bottom of it. There must have been a very obscure leak somewhere. He pulled the little rowboat onto the jetty and tipped it upside down, he wouldn't leave it in the sea, lest it sink.

The island was so familiar. The sand crunching under his feet felt the same as it did a year and a half ago. The delectable breeze coming off the sea felt the same as it did a year and a half ago. Even the paupu tree looked the same as it did a year and a half ago.

Someone was up there, sitting on the trunk of the tree. From a distance Riku could make out red, white and pink – it was Kairi. He made his way over to the islet and considered sneaking up on his friend since she was preoccupied with something. He quietly crept behind her. He crouched for only a moment just to make sure that she wasn't aware of his presence and then stood up suddenly with his arms raised like a monster and a roared. Kairi screamed and jumped off the trunk, dropping what she was working on in the sand.

"Sora!" she chided, turning around and seeing Riku's smirking face instead of the sunny smile she expected.

" _Bzzt_! Wrong," Riku replied.

Kairi sighed. "Sorry, it's just that that seemed like something Sora would do. I didn't expect it from you." She picked up the sketchpad and coloured pencils that she'd dropped and brought them back to the trunk. Riku climbed over the trunk and settled down, letting Kairi sit back in her previous spot. "Have you seen Sora today?"

"Not since we parted ways this morning," Riku replied. "Have you been home?"

Kairi held up the drawing materials she was holding.

"Clearly," Riku answered himself. "What's home like?"

"Well, dad was really happy to see me safe and sound. He freaked out when I went missing."

"What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him the truth. I told him that in those few days I was gone I was just camping on the island waiting for Sora. He was fuming mad."

"Why didn't you tell the truth?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Kairi asked teasingly. "I guess I didn't think he'd be able to handle the truth, or even believe it. Actually, I don't think he believed my lie. I'm scared. What if he tries to pry it out of me?"

Riku laughed. "Your dad? The mayor? No way. You should know your dad better than that. He might look kind of scary sometimes but he's nice and he's sensitive to others' feelings… not like my dad."

"Are you planning to tell your dad the truth?"

"No."

"Ha! Then you can't talk!" Kairi accused, pointing a finger at Riku with a smile. "You're such a hypocrite."

Riku didn't smile though, instead a frown settled firmly on his features. "I'm afraid of what might happen if I told my father the truth."

"But if I tell my dad the truth and Sora tells his mom the truth then your dad will find out the truth anyway."

"Then we should all keep it a secret." Riku mussed Kairi's hair light-heartedly. "Good job, soldier."

They both laughed out aloud. The noise didn't last and it wasn't long before it was quiet between the two of them again. They sat in silent companionship, watching the horizon and listening to the waves. Kairi eventually went back to her work in the sketchpad.

"What are you drawing?" Riku asked.

"Oh… nothing," Kairi replied, sketching in a petal of a flower.


	5. Sora's Dawn

A loud _bang_ ripped Sora out of his memories of the boat game. He put his ship down and ran out of his room in a hurry and a panic. The sewing machine had stopped. He hoped nothing terrible had happened and just as he was about to leap over the balcony rail to get downstairs quickly, he stopped. He remembered now. He sighed with relief and shook his head at himself. He took the long way down via the stairs and went straight to the kitchen where his mother was crouched on the floor trying to pick something up. She'd dropped the heavy iron stew pot. The little girl in pigtails had also come running down the stairs and went straight to his mother's side.

"Lemme help," she said.

"No, no, this is too heavy for you," Sora's mother insisted. "I've got it, don't worry."

"You dropped it again," Sora muttered, as if this was the first time he'd seen it even though this had happened very often.

His mother smiled at him. "I had it on the edge of the bench and I was a little careless. Don't worry, it's not like it broke the floor."

She put the lid on it and lifted it up. Her free arm was held out to the side and knocked the handle of a sharp knife that she'd been using to cut a root vegetable. Sora's breath got caught in his throat as his mother and the little girl squeaked and jumped back, narrowly avoiding a cut.

"Whoa, let me help with that," Sora suggested, going forward and picking up the knife. He took it over to the sink to rinse it. "You should be careful, mom. That could have hurt someone."

"You could have hurt yourself," the little girl added.

His mother sighed. "You two… I'm fine doing this by myself, I promise."

"Maybe… but you always drop stuff."

Sora nodded. "I'll help you out. I haven't got anything else to do anyway. My homework is so overdue it's not worth doing anymore." That got a chuckle out of her.

"I'll help too," the little girl offered, going over to a drawer where more knives were kept.

"Oh, no," his mother said quickly, grabbing the little girl and dragging her away from the drawer. "No, you're not allowed to use the knives until you're older. Here, if you want to help right now, why don't you set the table." She opened up the cupboard where the plates and bowls were kept and the little girl picked up two plates. "We need three now, sweetie."

The little girl looked up at Sora's mother in surprise and then turned to Sora. She stared at him for a moment before nodding and picking up another plate.

"I'll finish cutting these vegetables," Sora said, going to the chopping board. He took a look at the four vegetables and the three herbs that had been chosen for the night's meal. The sight of a particular bulbous vegetable made him cringe. "Mom! Do we have to have this?"

He held it up for her to see. She put her hands on her hips. "Oh, Sora. Why is it like you've never left," she said with a small, sad smile. "It's good for you, so yes, we have to have it. Come on, you said you were going to help with the cutting, so cut."

She took the iron pot to the sink and poured a little bit of sauce into the bottom before carefully measuring out three cups of water. Sora quickly finished cutting up all of the vegetables (needing some stern encouragement from his mother for the one he didn't like) and the first one went into the pot. Sora's mother placed the pot over the cooking fire and left it to boil.

"Thanks, Sora," she said, giving him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "I'll call you back down when it's ready, okay?"

"Mom!" Sora groaned, pushing away.

She giggled. "Aw, you don't even want a welcome home kiss from your mama?"

"I'm not a baby, mom." Sora rubbed the spot that she'd kissed with a pout, embarrassed even though nobody was watching. "Are you sure you're okay to finish it by yourself?"

She laughed and pushed him away. "Oh, just go."

Sora returned to his room but he really didn't have anything to do. All would be quiet in the house while his mother focussed on her cooking so he sat on his bed and watched the waves roll onto the beach in the dark dusk. He leaned on the window frame, looking out towards the play island that was little more than an indistinct silhouette against a dark backdrop where the first stars were starting to twinkle in. Something didn't feel quite right, not with the islands or his mother but with himself. There was so much that he was only just beginning to remember and still so many things that he didn't quite know. In his memory he knew Kairi had called his mother's name. Why couldn't he remember what her name was?

His gazed panned across the sea and settled on the horizon. The sun had already sunk but that thin edge between the sea and the sky clung to light for as long as it possibly could. It was nearing the end of the twilight period and when the light disappeared completely it would be welcomed back gladly at dawn.

" _Hey, Dawn, I think the rain has almost stopped. Can we go out now?"_

That's right. His mother's name was Dawn.


	6. Riku's Clash

Kairi and Riku came back together later in the afternoon and said their goodbyes. Afterwards, Riku looked down the beach in the direction of Sora's house. He still remembered which one it was – the blue one. He could see it. He considered paying Sora a visit but decided against it. His father would be angry at him for walking off without a word like that.

He found his mosaic tile on the street and was about to disappear into the undergrowth when someone with a sweet voice like a tiny bell made him stop.

"Riku? Is that you?"

He turned. A pixie-like woman was approaching his house from the other end of the street. She was very small and tried to relieve her shortness with three-inch high heels but even that height boost didn't quite bring her to an average height. Even Selphie was taller than her. Her silver hair was pinned stylishly, as usual and the fashionable clothes, accessories and make-up on milk-white skin gave the impression that she was a living doll. She walked up to Riku slowly with wide-eyes and a slack jaw. If her purse wasn't hanging from her shoulder she would have dropped it.

"Yeah, mom, it's me," Riku replied.

He stood stock still as she approached, reaching out to him with a delicate hand. She touched him on the arm briefly and her fingers snapped back as if she had just been burnt. Warily she uncurled them and touched him lightly. Her hand on his arm was solid and his flesh against her palm was just as real. She pushed him just to make sure. Riku was always stronger than her (at least in his memory he was) but now he was like a boulder to her; completely unmoveable.

"Why… you came back," she whispered. She took a sharp, shuddering breath and her hands suddenly dove into her purse to find a handkerchief.

"Don't cry mom, it'll ruin your make-up," Riku joked but the tears were already rolling down her cheeks. She had never been able to help it.

"That's okay, I can reapply," she said, finishing with a sad sniff as she dabbed away the black tears of ruined mascara and eyeliner. "But… but… I never thought you would ever come home. You disappeared so suddenly without a trace and now… now…"

"I know… sorry." Riku reached over and pulled his mother in for a hug, one that she forcefully returned. Her nails dug into his sides painfully and he thought his waist must have been squeezed a bit narrower. She buried her face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Her lipstick and eye make-up was going to stain his jacket but he could wash that out. His mother needed this.

He hadn't kept track of time but his legs were beginning to go numb from standing so still before his mother's grip finally loosened. He now had to steel himself to meet with his father again. This wasn't going to be good. Walking in with his mother beside him didn't give him extra confidence.

A light in the living room had been turned on to combat against the fading daylight. The twilight had come quite quickly and it would be over within half an hour – the evening didn't last long on the islands. Riku gazed with a heavy heart at the scene inside. His father was nowhere to be seen but the three 'little ones' were there. He could see them through the decorative cage wire running around the living room even though all four boys knew that they were strictly forbidden to do that. He could already hear Kadaj's shrieking laugh – he was always the loudest of the three and he was the one doing the chasing this time. Loz was his partner in crime now (this was rare) in a combined effort to try to catch Yazoo, which was odd because Yazoo normally didn't like playing games that involved physical exertion. Riku thought he caught a glimpse of something shiny in Kadaj's hands and hoped that that wasn't what he thought it was.

His mother took her shoes off on the veranda. Riku heard her sigh in audible relief. She must have been standing for hours at her job today. High heels really weren't a practical choice of footwear but she was very sensitive about being so short. She put them down haphazardly on the floor, hopefully planning to pick them up later. Riku's father was very finicky about tidiness.

"Boys," she said in her sternest voice, which sounded only fractionally more threatening than her usual voice, "stop it. No running around the house."

_Snip, snip._

Kadaj brandished the shiny pair of scissors and ignored her, leaping over the couch. Yazoo fled quickly, twisting up his hair and holding it over his shoulder. Loz got in front of him and grabbed him. Kadaj was close behind.

"Boys! Running with scissors is dangerous!" their mother scolded.

It took Riku only a few long strides to reach Kadaj before he could do any damage. He grabbed the little boy by the wrist holding the scissors and lifted him off his feet. He took the dangerous blades away and then dropped him mercilessly. Kadaj sat on the floor and pouted at Riku.

"You ruined the fun, meanie," he whined. "We're just playing."

"Torturing your older brother isn't playing," Riku snapped. "Learn to respect your elders, brat."

"Yeah," Yazoo chimed in.

His mother sighed with relief again. "Thanks, Riku. You always know how to deal with them best. I should get dinner started."

Kadaj blew a raspberry. "Now I'm bored."

The rattle and crash of the screens being pushed apart violently made everyone jump and turn to the front door. Riku's mother scurried from the back of the living room to retrieve her shoes before she could get a scolding. Kadaj got up off the floor and stepped back so that he stood in a small huddle with two of his brothers. Riku glared at his father standing in the doorway. He slowly strode across the room towards Riku with the rest of the family watching on in uneasy silence. He halted right in front of Riku but the silver-haired boy refused to take a step back or look away.

"Are you going to speak now or will I have to beat it out of you?" his father threatened.

"Aram, that's-" his mother started.

"Silence!" his gaze flickered briefly to her. She flinched and turned to get to the kitchen and start what she'd decided to do.

Riku chuckled and crossed his arms. "Even if you did beat me I wouldn't talk."

Aram reached out suddenly. Riku pulled his head back but not quick enough to stop his father from clutching a handful of his long hair. He grabbed Aram's wrist and squeezed hard, a silent promise that bringing this to a fight wouldn't end well.

"I always knew you were insolent," Aram hissed, "but this is a whole new level of audacity for you. I know you didn't forget what happened in your disappearance; you're different."

Riku kept his eyes narrowed and glared hard. He had so many snarky comebacks to that but he knew that saying any of them would give away the truth. The pressure on his scalp lessened as his father let go of his silver locks. A silent truce was made when Riku reciprocated the action by letting go of his father's wrist. Aram strode past him, saying in a low voice:

"I need your experience. At the road block I've reached it's sure to advance my research."

And that was one of the things Riku was afraid of.


	7. Sora and the Missing One

Sora idly played with his little wooden boat. He lay on his back using a pillow to prop his head up on the backboard while he titled the boat dramatically back and forth over his stomach like it was sailing over high, rough waves. Every now and again he stopped and tilted it a different direction so that he could examine it. It was quite beautifully and accurately crafted though not intricately detailed or decorative by any means. It was built simply and sturdily for a child to play with. It was his father's gift to him – a present for his fifth birthday when he and Riku first began to conjure up dreams of travelling over the sea. He wondered when his father would be back. Would he be here in time for dinner? He tried to imagine his father's face but for some reason all he could picture was a black shadow and a bright, sunny smile. He put the boat down on his bed and let it lean against the wall while he crossed one foot over his knee and folded his hands over his belly.

The night wasn't all that warm so Sora hadn't even needed his fan anyway. The light attached to the fan's motor was switched on, illuminating the room in a friendly yellow light. Everything in his room was bright, blocky and simple – simply built, simply arranged, simply coloured. In a way, it was still a five-year-old's room. A year of complete disappearance didn't make up for how far behind his room was. However, now that he was home, he had the time to work on that. There were going to be no more Heartless, no more Nobodies, no more Organisations and keyholes of any kind, he could relax again.

But the boat still bothered him. Sora hoped his father would be home soon so that he could meet him again and fill another of those gaping voids that he was finding all over his memories. Why was it so hard to remember him? Sora remembered being close, he remembered being taken to the islands on his father's boat sometimes with Riku, sometimes without. He was a carpenter and a craftsman but the former was his official occupation. The man was just generally good with wood. If it involved the carving, sawing, shaving, nailing, jointing, bolting and treating of wood, his father could do it. He was the one who made the wooden swords for Sora and Riku but he'd made them in a special way so that they were stronger than any other child's wooden sword, Sora didn't know how. Almost ten years later, the swords were still battle-worthy. Actually…

Sora got up and crawled down to the end of his bed where his chest of toys was. He opened it and peered over the lid at the neatly packed up toys in there. The two swords were laid across the top of all of the other items, darker in colour than when they were first crafted but otherwise exactly the same. Sora picked one up and tested it with a few quick swipes. The crisp _whoosh_ that came from the blade was satisfying to hear. Sora leaped off his bed and brought the sword swinging down. He did some training manoeuvres around the floor of his bedroom, practicing the various fighting techniques he'd learnt over the course of his journeys. He grinned, enjoying the sound of the sword slicing through the air. He was much faster now, much stronger and more agile but the wood didn't bend with each swing. Sora couldn't help but laugh at the irony. He was almost a master at sword-fighting now with all of his experience with the Keyblade and this toy sword was still worthy of the powerful strikes and swipes that he could muster.

He jumped up, swinging the sword up in a long uppercut and then: _CLANG_!

He landed and looked up with wide eyes and a cringe. The ceiling fan wobbled and the blades rotated slightly from the force of the blow. Sora swallowed, feeling like a vandal. He stood stock still for a while, just observing the fan and relaxed when he realised that it had taken its undue punishment well and hadn't been damaged.

"Sora, what was that noise?" his mother called up from downstairs. Sora didn't move, not really wanting to admit what he did. After a pause, she added: "Dinner's ready by the way."

Sora discarded the sword carelessly on his bed and eagerly left his bedroom. Dawn was putting the stew pot down on a thick, straw placemat in the middle of the table and the still steaming contents had a heavenly scent that made Sora's mouth water. She smiled when she saw Sora lingering in the threshold between the living space and the dining space.

"Come on, sit down," she invited him, pulling out the two chairs closest to her. The other chair was already occupied by the little girl. Their dining table was small and round, perfect for about four people, five at the maximum. There were four plain chairs, matching the plain design of the table and yet there were only three places set. Sora frowned at that, recalling what his mother had told the little redhead an hour earlier. Did his father not come to dinner anymore?

Dawn went back into the kitchen to fetch a ceramic dish that was sitting on the grill at the back of the open fire oven. She didn't own a pair of oven mitts so she handled it with two folded up dishtowels. There was another thick, straw mat on the table where it would be placed but as she walked back to the table holding the dish by the rim the clay slipped between the cloth folds. Dawn gasped in horror. The little girl almost jumped right out of her seat. Sora dived to catch it before it shattered on the floor. He yelped in pain as the hot dish burned his hands and dropped it immediately but the crisis had already been averted; the dish and the food inside it were saved.

Dawn let out a sigh of relief. "That was close. How are your hands, Sora? Let me see."

She dropped the dishtowels and kneeled next to Sora as he sat up. She took his hands and forced him to hold them palm up. They were red but he hadn't been holding on for long enough to get a severe injury. "Put your hands in the sink and run some water over them," she instructed sternly, getting up and pulling Sora up with her. She dragged him into the kitchen and put his hands in the sink for him. "I'll go and see if we have a potion somewhere."

A potion would help but a panacea would do better, Sora thought as the refreshing flow from the tap soothed his burn. He refrained from saying that aloud. The panacea hadn't yet been invented on the islands.

Dawn hurried to the bathroom and came back with a small, green tub containing a potion in salve form. It was more useful with shallow, superficial wounds and healed them faster. It was almost empty. Sora turned off the tap and let his mother apply the cream. It was light blue and sparkled like an ordinary potion and it tingled on his skin in a pleasant way. When the burns were covered she closed the tub and set it on the kitchen bench to be put away later and turned around. She gasped and dashed back to the kitchen table. Sora turned around quickly, wondering what had got his mother so flustered so quickly. The little redheaded girl had moved aside some of the plates and cutlery. She'd taken up the dishtowels and while Dawn and Sora were preoccupied she'd moved the dish from the floor and was now struggling to get it onto its mat. Dawn peeled the girl's hands away quickly and put the dish in place herself, scolding the girl as she did.

"You could have burned yourself if you'd dropped it!"

"I didn't drop it! You're the only one who keeps dropping stuff in this house," the little girl retorted.

Dawn sighed. "Oh… I suppose so. Right, why don't we just sit down and eat?"

"Aren't we waiting for someone?" Sora asked, coming back from the kitchen. He looked over the dinner table at the three places.

"Who are we waiting—oh… Sora, how could you forget?" Dawn said, folding her hands in front of her.

Sora gulped and stared at his family with wide eyes. Dawn's mouth was pulled tight and the little redhead sat on her chair, staring at her feet as she swung her legs. He didn't quite understand. What could he have forgotten—oh… that's right, how could he have forgotten?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I'm using the panacea in this chapter as if Sora had known all about it throughout KH2, even though it was only introduced in 358/2 Days and BBS, which I think is an adequate reason to assume that the rest of the series can be retconned to include this item.


	8. Riku's Little Ones

Riku didn't talk during dinner. He hardly ate too. By the end of it he couldn't get away fast enough and hid away in his bedroom. The door had a deadlock on it, which he'd installed himself to keep the family out when he didn't want them. He looked around his room.

In all honesty, he couldn't really say that it was _his_ room anymore. Everything that he'd owned had been either thrown out or moved somewhere else (he didn't know which). It was a small room with a polished wooden floor and floor to ceiling glass louvers that were left only slightly open. The bed was pushed into the top right corner with the head at the window, just the way he liked it but it no longer had his sheets on it. Instead it was fitted with plain blue sheets and looked like a generic single bed. It definitely was the bed he used to sleep in but he'd grown so much in the past year and a half and the bed looked so small now. Would he even still fit on it? The shelves that were nailed to the left wall were empty, as was the chest at the foot of his bed. One of the drawers underneath his bed had a spare set of nightclothes that Riku found fit him just fine but were probably not meant for him at all. His desk was gone. The only thing in the space next to his bed was a small, three-legged table with an alarm clock radio and a reading lamp.

Riku turned off the light in his room early and changed into the comfortable night clothes, leaving his daywear in a haphazard pile in the middle of the floor. He lay back in the crisp, clean sheets that had never actually been slept in and reached back to pull the louvers right behind and above him further open. He lay still and awake for hours. Outside an owl hooted. It was a new one. Before he'd left the islands there was an owl living in the jungle around his house that hooted enchantingly every night. It seemed to have moved away now. Riku sighed in disappointment. While he knew that owls came and went he did like that particular owl and its mesmerising sound. Every now and again there was a rustle as the wind blew, the call of a different bird, the singing of a gecko or the crunch of an animal crushing leaves and twigs as it walked. Riku wished he'd been back for the rainy season when the rhythmic pitter-patter of rain drew out the frog choirs. With a relieved sigh he realised that now with the Organisation XIII ordeal over he would be here for the next rains and the rains after them.

The new resident owl hooted at varying intervals with varying tones and pitches like it was composing a song. Riku smiled as he listened to it, growing fonder of it with each passing minute. He didn't even realise when he fell asleep.

* * *

Riku's eyes snapped open. The night was quiet but the moon had moved over in the sky and was now shining right into his room, bathing everything in a milky-white glow. He wasn't sure what had woken him all of a sudden and sat up confused but then it happened again:

_Rap, rap, rap!_

Sharp knocks on the door. It didn't take long for his visitor to get impatient and start loudly pounding the door repeatedly like a drum roll. Riku threw the covers back and hurried over to the door, unlocking it and opening it. He knew who it was before he was able to see. He glared down at them. Three identical pairs of eyes stared back at him cutely, blinking innocently. The pale children seemed to glow all over in the moonlight.

"What's the matter with you?" Riku hissed, directing the question at Kadaj. "Do you want to wake mom and dad?"

"No, just you," Kadaj replied cheekily.

"Why are you here?"

"Can we come in?" Yazoo asked.

"Why are you here?"

"What? Don't you like us anymore, Riku?" Loz said, voice hitching a bit at the end.

Riku glowered. He already knew why they were here but his bed definitely wasn't quite big enough for him anymore, at least not lengthwise. "You aren't going to fit. You all have your own beds, go sleep in them."

Despite his retort, Riku didn't close the door on them. Kadaj frowned.

"It's hard to sleep," Yazoo admitted. "Everything feels tense now that you're home."

"But we missed you," Loz added.

Kadaj tried to dash around Riku but the older brother caught him by the arm and held him back effortlessly. "If I'm the problem, why come to me?"

Three pairs of eyes shifted uncomfortably. Riku sighed and turned to make his way back to bed, leaving the door open. The three little boys stood by the door unsure of what to do. As soon as Riku was back under his sheets Kadaj scurried across the room and jumped on him. Riku let out a small "oof!" but Kadaj's small body was hardly enough to wind him. Yazoo and Loz squeezed in beside him, forcing Riku to squash himself against the wall. Even so, Yazoo was almost lying on top of him and Loz seemed to be hanging onto the edge of the bed for dear life. He didn't remember it being this squashy, even with the three of them. Then he reminded himself that a year and a half ago he was about half as big as he is now.

The owl hooted its song to the stars.

"Shut up, dumb bird!" Kadaj yelled out the window. Riku flicked his arm up and smacked him in the nose.

"Go to sleep or I'll put you outside like a dog," Riku threatened. Of course, it was empty – his threats to his little brothers were always empty but Riku's poker face and occasional shows of strength were enough that the three boys never picked that up. Now that his arm was free and not bolted to his front by Yazoo's body, Riku reached over both of the children beside him and pulled them close, hooking his hand securely under Loz's waist. He felt the second oldest relax even though Yazoo squirmed at the extra tightness. Kadaj folded his hands in the crook of Riku's neck from his comfortable position on top of his big brother and used Riku's shoulder as a pillow.

The rest of the night was warm and silent as the brood slept.


	9. Sora's Sweet Memories II

Sora didn't sleep well that night and when he awoke he felt sick. How could he have forgotten? His father hadn't been home for years and nobody knew where he'd gone. The memories of the day were fuzzy, they stopped and started in his head. At first all of the words and images didn't go together right and at times were indistinct as though someone had tried to edit a film and done so horribly wrong, even forgetting to properly synch the audio. Every inch of the island had been scoured, some people – especially his workmates – even took a few days off work to help look for him but there was no trace left.

Suddenly he sat up in bed. There was something in the house that he'd forgotten to look for since it hadn't crossed his mind earlier. He flung himself out of bed and burst out onto the balcony, surveying the room below. It wasn't there. He sighed and hung his head as another memory quickly lit up in his head. It was strange… his memories were there, mostly sound and correct but why didn't he remember them? It took a lot of prompting to bring anything to the surface and this one was no different. Shortly after his dad disappeared, they'd sold it. They sold their piano.

It was still early in the morning; the sun only just begun to glow over the horizon. Dawn wouldn't wake up until the first real rays peaked over that razor edge. Sora didn't feel like going back to sleep so he trudged downstairs. At the bottom of the staircase he turned to his left and looked at the living room wall. It suddenly looked so empty now that he remembered what used to be there. A beautiful, dark wood upright piano. He dragged his feet to the empty wall and turned his back to it, slumping against the plaster and sliding down to the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them, staring blankly into the room.

The silence settled over the house like a thick blanket and a melody began to play inside his head. An old, jaunty song from years ago that had him swaying slightly where he sat. He remembered sitting in front of the black and white keys while his father's rough fingers pushed them up and down…

_Sora was always amazed by his father's hobby. The way his fingers scaled the keys was mesmerising. His skill with the musical instrument was tantamount to his skill with woodwork. In the afternoons when he returned from work the first thing he do was give Sora's a hair a playful pull and ask how his day was (when Sora was much younger his mother would joke that that was why his hair was growing so spiky) and then take a shower. The second thing he'd do was sit down at his piano and play._

_The notes filled the house every night, drowning out the drone of the sewing machine. He was so good at it Sora wondered why he didn't play piano for his living instead. Those times were peaceful, blissful. There were nights when Sora would sit beside him on the piano stool and listen and watch while his father played his favourite piece for him. The tune sounded so foreign, like nothing else he'd ever heard on his world. A lot of the music his father played was like that. Sora would sometimes close his eyes and imagine a different world shaped by the notes his dad played. Some of those worlds were underwater, some of them sat weightlessly in the clouds. His favourite one, however, was a dark little town, brown all over and paved up completely with cobblestones. There was no sun, no moon, just a dark night sky and glittery stars overheard. Despite the darkness, the town had an atmosphere of gentle warmth like a fire on a cold night._

" _Dad, how did you learn to play piano?" he once asked._

" _I started when I was little – about your age," his dad replied, looking down at his young son, "and I practised lots and lots. Do you want to start learning?"_

_Sora shrugged. Playing piano was of no real interest to him, he just liked listening to the music. "How did you learn the songs?"_

" _People write music for instruments and musicians learn songs by reading the music and then playing."_

" _You're not reading music now," Sora pointed out. The music stand bolted to the piano lid was empty while his dad was playing his favourite song._

_His father chuckled. "I've memorised this one and many others. They're my favourites."_

" _Why did you learn it?"_

" _I heard it somewhere and spent a lot of time trying to find the music for it. I'm glad that I eventually managed to."_

" _Why is it different to so much other music?"_

_His father looked down at him with a quizzical expression. "All music is different. Songs aren't ever the same. Even if the same song is played by two different people those two versions will be different in some way."_

_Sora scrunched up his nose. None of those were the answers he really wanted to hear but his little five-year-old mind wasn't sharp enough to realise that he hadn't asked the right question to get the answer he wanted. "_ Where _did you learn that song?" was what he wanted to know. Why did it sound different to the typical island music?_

_The piano wasn't just a special spot for him and his father, it was also special for his mother. Sometimes she sat in his place on the stool with her arm around her husband's waist as he played something slower, more romantic and more intimate. Sometimes they'd lean on each other and whisper sweet nothings, which made their little boy gag. Sometimes they all squeezed together on the stool as much as they could (usually that meant Sora had to sit on his mother's lap) and enjoyed the piano as a family. His father would make them play simple progressions of notes and chords to make simple duets. It was fun. It was beautiful._

After he went missing his mother had to expand her business to sustain the family. Repairs and alterations didn't bring in enough money so they sold a few of their things so that she could buy more material, more cotton and more needles to turn her clothing repair business into a proper tailor shop. It was necessary for their precious piano to go.

"Sora? You're already up?"

Sora looked up. His mother was leaning over the balcony in her pyjamas, which consisted of a singlet and a pair of shorts. Sunlight streamed into the house through the window in front of her workstation. He just nodded, shifting a little bit and noticing that his legs had gone to sleep.

"Let's get breakfast," he suggested.

Dawn sighed and made her way down the stairs. Seeing the way he had curled up in that specific spot communicated all she needed to know. He remembered now. Sora's legs were wobbly as he got up. Dawn stopped at the foot of the staircase and watched him amble past her towards the kitchen. Something was different about him. Something had definitely changed. She swallowed thickly. It was hard to place and the reason terrified her, embarrassed her; she hoped she'd never have to speak about it or admit it to him at all.

Up until recently, Dawn hadn't remembered Sora either.


	10. Riku and Tidus

Riku woke up before anyone else in his house and left early after a meagre breakfast of cereal. His little brothers slept like logs, even as he shifted to get out of bed when they were sleeping on top of him like that. It was still a bit dark out. Hardly anyone else would be out and about at this time of day. What could he do between then and now?

He walked purposefully down his street with the intention of going to the beach to take his boat to the little island and attempt to find and plug the leak. Hopefully, it would only need a bit of tree sap. As he got closer to the main part of town the jungle disappeared and opened up into a tropical grassland. Most of the houses were built here since this was a more construction-friendly location only for lack of trees. It made up for not having the difficulty of vegetation by having a rather sheer topography. It was nothing compared to the valley on the north side of the island but it took someone with reasonable fitness to make it from the beach to the mayor's house, located higher than any other.

Kairi lived there, Riku recalled. The mayor was her adoptive father. However, Kairi wasn't likely to be awake this early in the morning and even if she was, she would probably be leaving or had already left. So Riku took the lower path heading down to the beach.

* * *

After collecting a bucketful of tree sap, Riku sat himself on the end of the small jetty of the play island with his boat at his feet. He pushed it down into the sea, hoping the pressure would force water into to leak so that he could find out where it was coming from.

" _Aha!"_

There it was – the tell-tale drip. It was seeping through the bottom of the boat from a tiny hairline crack. Riku kept pressing. The amount of water he'd found in his boat yesterday couldn't have come from just that one little crack, there must have been another. A year of neglect surely would amount to more than that.

Suddenly the boat leaped out of the water. Riku gasped in shock but (to his own relief) didn't scream. He quickly scuttled backwards, pulling his feet onto the jetty and stared between his knees at his boat suspended in the air by a jolly fifteen-year-old blond boy. Riku scowled at him. He just laughed.

"Mornin', Riku," Tidus said with a grin.

"Hi."

Tidus put the boat down beside him on the water, keeping a hand on it so that it wouldn't float away. "Hey, it's been a while! How's it hangin'?"

Had Tidus been hanging around Wakka's family too much? Riku didn't remember Tidus having that hint of a northern islander accent. He sat cross-legged and glared at Tidus. The boy was so different now. Riku's family seemed to still be the same, including his little brothers but it had taken a while for Riku to recognise Tidus. He was taller, tanner, bulkier and he'd gotten his left ear pierced.

"I was having a wonderfully productive morning until you showed up," Riku snapped. His gaze flickered over to his bucket of sap. He hadn't tipped it over in his scramble.

Tidus shook his head, sending drops of sea water everywhere. Riku threw his arms up to block the water.

"Hey! Watch it!"

Tidus chuckled. "What? Did you think I didn't mean to do that?" he asked. He stuck his tongue out.

Riku sighed in exasperation and looked around. Odd. His boat was the only one at the jetty and there were no others grounded further up the beach. He looked at Tidus while the younger boy was tying up Riku's boat for him. "Tidus, how did you get here?"

"I swam."

Riku gawked. "Swam?"

He looked over to the main island. It could have been up to a kilometre away, nobody had really ever bothered to check. Tidus was soaked to the skin but he was still fully clothed. Riku narrowed his eyes.

"I don't believe you. I think you've docked your boat on the other side."

Tidus laughed at that. "You can go check it but I promise it ain't there. I swam all the way here, bro. I'm doing it for Blitzball."

"What's Blitzball?" Riku asked.

"It's this new thing, right, this new sport that me and Wakka came up with," Tidus explained excitedly. "Right, we made up this game that's like playing football but underwater and the coaches at school said it sounded pretty cool and that we should totally make it happen so next year an official league is going to start up and as one of the inventors of the sport I have to be one of the best. Every day I catch the morning high tide and swim all the way from my house to here. I'm getting really good at it. I only had to take a breath once this time."

"That…" Riku stammered. That was impossible. Tidus' house was at the village's westernmost edge in the mangroves. It was smelly and muddy, even at high tide, and he'd have to navigate around the thorny tree roots while avoiding sharks and crocodiles and the poisonous mangrove snakes and eels. And then he had to swim more or less a kilometre to get to the little island. There was no way anyone could do that in two breaths. "That's absurd! You liar!"

"I ain't lyin'. I'm trying to stay ahead of Wakka. He still needs to take three breaths to make it here."

"That's also impossible!"

"Shows what you know, 'cause I just did it." Tidus shrugged and climbed onto the jetty. His clothes – a heavy pair of dark overalls and a yellow cotton shirt – were so saturated that they poured water as soon as he stepped onto the jetty. Riku's eyes widened when he saw Tidus stamp his feet onto the wooden boards in bright yellow rubber-soled sneakers. Surely, Tidus was lying. There was no way he could swim all the way from his house to the island in two breaths with his clothes and shoes on.

"Even I can't make it across the sea without a boat," Riku said, glowering at him as he sauntered past.

"Things change, man. You haven't been around for a year and a half." Tidus clasped his fingers and put his hands behind his head. Suddenly he stopped and turned around with a big grin. "How's it feel to not be top dog at everything around here anymore?"

Riku tried to keep the sour look off his face but the inside of his mouth tasted like he'd just sucked on a lemon. He didn't understand why it felt that way, though. Tidus was lying, he had to be. There was no other explanation.

Something was swinging by Tidus' left hip. Riku's eyes wandered down to it curiously. It was a scabbard. It was the same colour as his overalls, which explained why Riku didn't notice it before but the sword hilt at the end looked foreign. The hoop-shaped pommel had a piece of drenched red fabric tied to it. Tidus tapped the scabbard at his side.

"Notice something different?" he teased. He drew the sword and as it emerged there was a flash of blue light. The base of the hilt bubbled and foamed and then solidified when the whole hook-shaped blade was drawn. It must have been an illusion but the blade seemed to be flowing like water. "Check it out. I managed to get a hold of this baby while you were gone. I wonder how it stacks up against your toy sword."

"How did you get that?"

"C'mon, challenge me. If you win I'll answer any question, no strings."

Riku growled. He didn't have his wooden sword on hand and by the looks of Tidus' new weapon it was magical. He'd never seen anything like it on the islands, though. The magic weavers didn't yet have the research or the technology to make magical weapons of the calibre that Tidus was holding, or had that changed too? Somehow, Riku doubted it. A year and a half wasn't enough time to advance that much. The wooden sword would be easily cleaved in two in a fight against Tidus' new weapon but he did have one that would stand a chance. He glanced around the beach. It was completely empty but he was cautious. He pointed up the beach.

"We'll go around to the other side of the island and fight there," Riku announced, standing up.

"Where's your sword?"

"You showed me your magic weapon, so I'll show you mine. But I don't want anyone else catching a glimpse of it."

Tidus burst out laughing. "Dude! Do you have any idea how kinky that sounded?"

Riku swiftly stepped up to Tidus, twisted him around by the shoulder and kicked him in the back of the knee in one fluid motion. The blond was brought down to a kneeling position. He looked up just as Riku was crossing the jetty in front of him. The silver-haired boy looked down over his shoulder at Tidus.

"Stop running your mouth, moron. See you on the other side of the island."

Tidus huffed. He glared at Riku's broad back as the older boy walked away proudly. He got up and followed begrudgingly. Even though nobody had been around to see that, the bruise that was forming on his ego was painful.


	11. Sora and the Mayor

Sora was panting by the time he made it to the top of the hill. It was still early in the morning so he figured Kairi wouldn't have left home yet. He stopped to catch his breath and swallowed to wet his throat while he leaned on the low fence. Then he stood up and faced the mayor's house - a quaint little building with white walls but the roof was so dramatically angled that it looked like someone had turned a few boats upside down and used them as roofing. There was a wooden deck before a door that was placed under a round window. Sora stepped up to the door and knocked twice.

The door opened immediately, drawing a squeak out of Sora. He looked up at the tall man standing in front of him. He was about as tall as Riku with the same fair skin and silver hair. The mayor was only half dressed in casual slacks, since it was early and not a work day. Despite the fairness of his body, there was something darker about his presence that always made Sora feel half as small. It wasn't a menacing darkness like the kind that possessed Riku or the kind that Maleficent and The End of The World exuded. It was an awe-inspiring darkness, more akin to the coolness of having a deep reservoir of knowledge and wisdom. The mayor's eyes were so deep you would never see the bottom of them.

"Morning, Sora," the mayor said gruffly. "What do you want?"

"Uh, um," Sora said, shifting his eyes around to avoid looking directly at the mayor. "I just wanted to see if Kairi was around, that's all."

"She's still asleep," was the curt reply. "Most people are – it's a rest day."

"Yeah, I kinda noticed." Actually, he didn't. If he wasn't in school Sora had no idea when rest days came around since his mother often worked through them to finish orders before deadlines. "Can I wait here until she's awake?"

"You'll be here a while if you do that."

The mayor really didn't provide any room for argument. Sora stood on the doorstep while the mayor fiddled with the simple gold band he wore on his left ring finger, a habit he would probably never break. They shared a tense silence during which Sora fidgeted and cast his gaze around the garden, not really looking at anything in particular. He just didn't want to be looking at the mayor. The man had a way of being fiercely intimidating without even meaning to. Almost like Riku.

"However, since you're here, how was your trip?"

Sora blinked. His head whipped around to stare at the mayor. "Trip?"

"Yes," the mayor said, creasing his brow. "You've been away for about a year now. Was it a good trip?" The mayor turned his gaze away slightly and stared into space for a moment as if something had just come to him and he needed to mull it over. "And where did you go?"

"Oh… I… went to a lot of places," Sora answered nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "A lot happened and… some of it was good."

The mayor's crease got deeper. "Yet some of it was bad?"

Sora didn't answer immediately. He was stunned for a moment. If even the mayor didn't know that probably meant that nobody knew. Nobody had any idea of where he had been for the past year and a half. Of course they wouldn't remember the half-year he spent on his first adventure but nobody had any clue about his disappearance for the rest of the time.

"I spent a lot of time just missing home and missing my friends," Sora offered as an excuse, hoping the mayor bought it. "It's pretty tough when you suddenly have to go away for a long time, especially if all you've known for your whole life is the little island that you lived on, right?"

"I see, homesickness." The mayor beckoned for Sora to follow him as he stepped out of his house and crossed the deck boards. The sun had just come far enough over the mountain ridge and treetops to wash the boards in warm, morning light. The mayor sat down at the end of the deck beside the stairs, looking down to the sea. Sora sat next to him and clasped his hands between his knees. "Tell me about the places you went."

Sora stiffened and gulped. "Uh, well… there were lots of cool places. There was a time where we were, uh, hiking! Yeah, hiking in a jungle. With gorillas. It was pretty cool. And there was also a safari. There was also this place that had a nice hedge maze." He added under his breath: "it would have been nicer if the queen wasn't so mean."

"Queen?"

Sora jumped and his hands flew up like a defence shield. "We just called her the queen," he lied quickly, "because she liked to be in charge all the time. And, um… a desert. I saw a desert for the first time. And snow too! I saw snow for the first time. I didn't think it would be so cold. And when it was falling – that was just, wow."

The mayor nodded but with a confused expression. "I… see… I suppose. And who did you go with? I don't remember anyone else going with you."

"Anyone else?"

"You keep saying 'we'."

"Oh… oh!" Sora forced out a laugh that he hoped didn't sound too fake. "Yeah, there were some others. I met them on the journey, they didn't leave the islands with me."

The mayor narrowed his eyes, glaring suspiciously at Sora. "You know, now that you mention it, I don't actually remember you leaving. I remember you building a raft with Kairi and Riku before you left but you can't have gone on that because Kairi was still here. And Riku also disappeared without a trace. Did he go with you?"

"Um, yes!" Sora said, looking straight at the mayor and nodding his head vigorously. "He was there. Yeah, I remember, we had all sorts of cool adventures."

Sora tried to keep the happy façade up but his heart was dropping into his stomach at the mayor's expression. He was confused before but now he was clearly suspicious. Sora's vague story didn't make sense in a lot of ways. Sora shuffled a bit and turned to look at the horizon, trying to avoid the mayor's stare.

"Would you like to come inside? I was just about to make breakfast."

Sora's whole body suddenly felt hollow. "Er… no. I've already eaten."

"Just some tea, then?"

"No… no, I'm fine. I'd rather just wait out here."

"Really?" The mayor fixed him with a hard stare.

"Y-yeah. I'll just wait for Kairi out here so that we can go out to play."

The mayor chuckled but it was a mirthful sound. Sora looked at him curiously. "Sorry," the man said, "but it's strange hear a person your age saying that they're going 'out to play' as if they were a child."

Sora turned back to the view wordlessly. The mayor's banter didn't make him feel any less dreadful inside.


	12. Riku and the Missing Half-Year

Tidus' water sword clashed with The Way to Dawn. Riku slid his Keyblade up the blade and caught it in the hook. He swung it over his head, tearing it out of Tidus' grasp. It sailed through the air and stuck fast in the sand behind them. It was mid-morning now and both boys were sweating from their swordfight. There was a bleeding rip in the right leg of Tidus' overalls where Riku had cut him and Riku's left shoulder was still feeling the sting from being hooked by Tidus' sword.

Riku stared at Tidus. He raised the Keyblade as if he were getting ready to battle again. Tidus's gaze darted between Riku and his sword.

"I've disarmed you. This fight is over," Riku declared.

"Not if I can get it back!"

Tidus dashed to the left to get to his sword. Riku was just as fast (and he'd expected something like this too). He tripped Tidus over. The blond fell face first in the sand. Just as he lifted his head up to spit out the grains Riku stabbed the Keyblade into the sand right in front of his face. He froze.

"It's over," Riku reiterated, putting a heavy foot on Tidus' back to drive that point home. He smirked. "I win."

Tidus groaned and let his face fall back into the sand.

"Hey! Guys!"

Riku looked up immediately at the sound of the feminine voice. He'd thought for a second that it was Kairi (because he briefly forgot that he knew any other girls) but he saw Selphie waving at him from the other side of the beach. She jogged over to them with a smile as sunny as the shade of yellow she was wearing. Riku let Tidus go so that the blond could get up. Selphie giggled at the sight of both of them and slipped her hand into the large pocket on the front of her dress to procure two potions.

"Aw, thanks Selph'! You're a life saver!" Tidus said, taking one of the potions and tossing it back with one gulp. The rip in his flesh glowed with the instantaneous magic as it sealed the wound shut. Riku glanced at his shoulder. In the heat of the fight he hadn't bothered to take notice of it too much but now he could see that it was a nasty jagged wound that was bleeding heavily. He took the second potion and downed it.

Selphie giggled and her grin almost reached her ears. "You're totally welcome. You boys are up really early today. I was saving those potions until later since I knew someone would inevitably get hurt in battle or something but I didn't expect it so soon. What's the wager this time? Is it money? Are you two insulting each other again?" All of a sudden she gasped dramatically and covered her mouth with both hands. A sly look crept into her eyes and her voice was muffled by her hands when she said: "Is it a girl?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "No. The wager is secret."

Selphie turned her full attention to Riku and suddenly that sunny-faced demeanour became subdued. "Yeah, that was silly of me to suggest it. You've only been back for a day, right? I saw Kairi yesterday and she told me that you and Sora were back. Where have you been?"

Riku gulped but tried not to visibly flinch. He could tell by her tone that that question was directed solely at him. He tried to change the subject. "It's a long story. And why are you here this early? I've never known you to be a morning bird."

Selphie nodded her head in the direction of the sea line. "I came because of the tide. It's gone low so I wanted to see if I could find some neat stuff before it came back in and everything got washed away. But you didn't answer my question. Where did you go? Kairi was pretty upset, you know."

Riku looked at the sand and nodded. "I know."

"Did you at least tell her where you've been?"

Riku nodded again. Selphie returned the nod sternly. She gave him a look like she was proud of him and he beat down the urge to roll his eyes at that. Kairi knew a lot more about where he'd been than Selphie could ever imagine and she thought that Kairi was ignorant.

"It's good that you did that, at least," Selphie said. "It was terrible seeing her so depressed like that for a whole year. Will you tell us anything about where you went? Even a teeny bit?"

Riku frowned at her, eyebrows furrowed. Something about what Selphie had just said didn't sit right with him. She cocked her head to the side expectantly as he continued to say nothing.

Suddenly, Tidus blew a loud raspberry. "Of course Riku isn't going to tell us. It's always a big guessing game with him. Hey, maybe we can get Sora to tell us where they went when the storm hit."

Riku's glare snapped from Selphie to Tidus instantly. "What are you talking about?"

Selphie sighed and leaned her head on her hand, resting her elbow in her other hand. "Tidus, you over exaggerate everything. That 'big, dark storm' you keep going on about was really just torrential rain."

"Seriously, Selph', I don't think you and me are thinking about the same storm," Tidus said.

"Whatever," Selphie said, rolling her eyes. "You're just being dramatic."

"No, really! It was that big!"

"It was not!"

Riku turned to look at the horizon disinterestedly as Tidus and Selphie bickered. He figured he would just wait until they both realised they were being stupid but something else still didn't feel right. It was nagging him like an itch under the skin that made his hair prickle. Something that the two of them had said… what was it? Riku glanced back over to the two of them. Selphie was nagging Tidus about a "poor memory", which he huffily protested as he picked up his sword. That's right, Riku had wagered a question on his battle with Tidus. Where had the sword come from? There was no way he could have possibly gotten it from the islands.

The conversation had changed. Riku could tell because the tones of their voices had changed. He didn't bother to tune in, he didn't really want to. Selphie and Tidus (Wakka too) only ever had idle, boring things to talk about. Or at least, that's the way Riku had always seen it. Their lack of ambitions as big as his meant that he didn't really get along with them as children and they had been sceptical of his plan to travel to other worlds on a raft (although in retrospect, that was probably a good thing). They were friends with Sora, mainly. Other than that, Riku had no reason to pay any attention to them. Wakka was unremarkable in all respects. Tidus was a typically arrogant sporting child who excelled at a made-up game and nothing else. Selphie was an airy girl with a head full of made-up stories and not much else. He had never bothered with any of those three before because they had never been on his radar for anything. In a way it felt odd to be interested in any one of them.

In the end, Riku thought that he might as well claim his prize before Tidus went and forgot about it. He approached the two of them and as he did their conversation became clearer, even though he wasn't really listening.

"Do you really think you have to hold your breath for that long?" Selphie asked.

"Totally! The way we set it up, right, the field isn't really all that big but you'll be swimming in swirls and circles a lot. We did some tests and we figured you could quickly swim up to a kilometre without even realising it. And you can't take a breath until the ball is out of play. So, yeah. I've gotta be able to hold my breath all the way to this island. Ha! When I got here this morning Riku couldn't believe that I was that good at it. He even thought I was lying. Haha! You should have seen his face, Selph'!"

"I'm not all that surprised. I wouldn't believe you could do it if I hadn't seen you training at it so hard all year."

"Yeah right! I'm sure Riku's just jealous that I can finally beat him at something. Ain't that right, Riku?" Tidus turned to Riku and grinned. "Can't handle a little change of tide?"

" _You haven't been around for a year and a half."_

Riku stared at him wide-eyed. A terrible chill ran through his core at the same time as something else bubbled up hotly. He lunged forward on impulse and grabbed Tidus by the collar of his shirt roughly, lifting him off his feet. "Why?" Riku growled.

"Riku? Stop!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Whoa! Dude, chill," Tidus said, dropping his sword and showing his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, really! Didn't mean to hit a really sore spot."

"No, I mean…" Riku took a deep breath. He set Tidus back down on the sand but didn't let go. "Selphie, you should leave."

"What? No! Not when you're getting like this all of a sudden," Selphie argued, running up and trying to get between them but Riku refused to move. "Let him go."

"Only when he answers the wager."

"The wager?" Tidus echoed.

"You said you'd answer any question if I won the battle."

"Oh yeah. What, do you wanna know why I'm so good at holding my breath?"

"No. I was going to ask about the sword but I think this is a better question: why did you think I was gone for a year and a half?"

Selphie sighed. "Riku, Tidus is terrible at anything he needs his memory for. He probably just lost track of time. Everyone knows you were gone for only a year."

Except that Riku knew he'd been gone longer than a year and he knew the reason why the Islanders wouldn't remember. Tidus glanced over to Selphie unsurely. That was all Riku needed to see. "I think he meant what he said. Where did the extra six months come from?"

Tidus gulped. "I think that's technically a different question…"

"You know what I'm asking. Why did you think I was gone for an extra half-year?"

"Riku, stop it!" Selphie shouted. She slapped him in the face hard enough to turn his head. The clap resounded across the beach as sharp as the sting on Riku's cheek. He let go of Tidus and the blond stumbled out of Riku's reach. "Why are you so mad? Tidus is just being stupid like he always is."

"I'm not being stupid!" Tidus said indignantly.

Riku slowly turned his head back to look at Selphie. His face was frozen in wide-eyed, slack-jawed bewilderment. Selphie glared at him defiantly with her arms akimbo.

"Are you back to your senses now?" she asked with a snap. Riku blinked and looked down at the sand. He nodded. Her sighing made him look at her again. Selphie crossed her arms and her eyebrows slanted down in a more doleful expression. "Really, can't you talk to us about where you were for the past year? It seems like it was pretty bad."

"Yeah… yeah, it was," Riku admitted before turning on his heel to go back to the other side of the island. He didn't turn to look or bother to wait for Tidus and Selphie's response.


	13. Sora and Kairi

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Going to the beach was an excellent idea. The sky was clear blue as far as Sora could see, even though the only direction he was looking was up. He was barely aware of it getting brighter and brighter as the sun came up and he dozed a little. All of a sudden, a face framed in blood red hair appeared in his field of vision. Sora cried out in alarm. He jumped and sat up quickly, startled into full alertness. The girl behind him giggled at his expense. He turned around and looked up at her with a playful pout.

"Hey! That was mean, Kairi."

"It wasn't that mean," Kairi said, sitting down on the edge of the deck next to him. "You always fall for that no matter how many times I do it. And good morning to you too."

"Oh, yeah, good morning," Sora replied, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. He looked down to hide his blush.

Kairi laughed again. "I was just playing, no need to look so down about it. So, what's the occasion?"

"Occasion?"

"You came to my house and waited on my deck for an hour and a half for me to show up. Is this a date?"

"What? Yeah—I mean no—I mean, I was here for an hour and a half?"

"You were," Kairi replied, sliding off the deck. Sora jumped down after her and they both walked down to road leading down to the village.

"I came to see if you wanted to go to the beach, even for a little while. The one on the island."

Kairi smiled at him. "Sure."

They walked side-by-side down to the beach. The sun was already high enough to cast shimmer and sparkles on the sea. The water looked like a treasure trove of diamonds and silver. Walking towards it gave Sora a skip in his step and made him grin.

"This feels great," Kairi whispered beside him.

Sora turned to her with a questioning look. "What does?" he asked.

Kairi blinked, startled by the fact that he'd actually heard her. "I mean… walking along here with you." She trailed off towards the end. Sora had to lean towards her to hear it.

"I know, right? It's great to be home again. I missed this place so much." He really did. It was all so familiar and yet at the same time everything felt fresh and new. The warm tropical air, the bright sun, the sweet breeze, the amazing blue sky. Sora had been to so many worlds and seen so many new things but he would gladly trade the cobblestone roads of Traverse Town, the cool underwater palace of Atlantis and the loose sands of Agrabah for the packed earth tracks, the warm shallow reefs and squeaky, white beach sand of the Destiny Islands. Everything felt different from how he remembered it, like he was experiencing the island for the first time.

"Yeah," Kairi agreed, "but I mean… it's like…"

"Like what?"

Sora stared at her. Kairi blushed and gulped. She wished Sora hadn't heard her the first time so that he could save her the embarrassment of having to explain herself. She took a deep breath and tried to piece her feelings into sentences. "Never mind," she ended up saying with a defeated sigh.

"Are you sure?" Sora said, stopping next to a wooden lamppost at an intersection. Kairi stopped with him. "You know you can tell me anything, right? We're friends."

" _Best_ friends," Kairi corrected him with a playful smile.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, best friends."

Kairi giggled but the noise died in her throat as her head contemplated how to say what she wanted to say to him. "What I meant was, it's great that you're home too. Now we're all home together. When I was here all by myself it felt lonely. Riku was gone and I couldn't even remember your name."

Sora scratched the back of his head awkwardly and his gaze turned downwards. "Yeah. All the weird stuff that happened to us and kept us apart, that was… I feel bad that I couldn't save both you and Riku straight away. I wish it hadn't taken so long and we could have all been here a year ago."

"Don't blame yourself, Sora. I'm just glad you made it back at all."

"Me too. But hey, it can't have been too bad. You had Selphie, Tidus and Wakka, right?"

"True, but having them here is not the same as having you here… you and Riku."

"What happened? Aren't you guys friends anymore?" Sora inquired quizzically.

"Of course we're friends. I remember, after school every day I would walk with Selphie down to the beach on this road. I would stay there as long as I could, waiting for you and Riku but Selphie always left. She tried to make me leave too, sometimes, saying that we had to go and study or do something more interesting." Sora didn't miss Kairi's frustrated exhale. "Tidus and Wakka went off to do something else. Nobody remembered you and yet everyone just went on as if it was okay. They've changed, Sora. When you see them, you'll know. They didn't wait for you. I did."

Sora's eyebrows rose and he stared at Kairi as if he was also seeing her for the first time. His heart thudded and he knew it wasn't just because he was flattered. Kairi had waited for him, she really _waited_. Her whole life was on hold for him and Riku. The whole world was muted while Sora turned that over in his head. He thought that perhaps now was the time to say it; that thing that he'd wanted to tell Kairi for far more than a year now. He opened his mouth to speak.

Suddenly Kairi looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. "It's starting to get hot already," she commented. Sora clamped his mouth shut. "We should go. It isn't much fun rowing all the way to the island in the heat."

She reached over and took Sora's hand. Her hands were about half the size of Sora's, absolutely tiny like his mother's. They were also as pale as white pearls. Sora smirked, knowing the real reason Kairi wanted to get to the island as fast as possible: sunburn. Kairi's pale skin burned terribly and then peeled painfully. It stung for days. If they got stuck out on the water when the sun was highest her skin would burn for sure.

They walked the rest of the way to the beach hand-in-hand. People were already out by the time they got there. There were some kids building sandcastles and a few teenagers in the surf. They were playfully fighting each other for the sole rubber tube they had between the four of them. Sora grinned as he watched a boy throw a silvery-blue creature with feather-like flippers onto the knee of the girl who was currently occupying it. He couldn't hold back a snicker when she screamed and flicked it off. He remembered being small and having glauco fights with other children. It was terrifying and fun at the same time and everyone always got scolded by an adult and taken home with stinging, red rashes from the poisonous gel on the creature's body.

The glauco landed on the face of the boy who'd thrown it in the first place. He wiped it off quickly. It still made Sora smile but the joy seeped out of his eyes, replaced by sadness. It was difficult to recall any memories from the main island. He had played with other children – even if he couldn't remember doing so, he knew he must have – but he couldn't remember any other faces. Riku, Wakka and Tidus stood out in the glauco fight memories. Everyone else was blurry. Not just their faces, their whole bodies. Sora even had to imagine new skin tones and hair colours for the others. Why were his memories so broken? Was there anyone on his islands who could even answer that question?

Kairi tugged on his arm. "Sora, don't dawdle! Look, two of the boats are gone. That means some of our friends are already there. I hope Riku's there."

Sora turned away from the teens and scoped out the beach in front of them. The boats were stacked against the sand dunes. One of them was half covered in sand. Sora went up and brushed some of the sand away. A crude etching was revealed that at one stage had looked like a self-portrait to him but now just looked like scribbles. Sora's heart sank when he realised that it was his boat. He pulled it away from the dunes and lay it down on the sand. The wood had shrunk a bit, worse than Riku's. He could test it for seaworthiness but just by looking at it Sora could tell that it was going to leak badly.

"I don't think it's a good idea to travel on that thing," Kairi said.

"Yeah…"

"Don't worry, we'll just go together in my boat."

"Really? That's okay?"

"Sure, just help me carry it to the water."

Sora grinned and hugged her. "You're the best, Kairi!"

She laughed and returned the hug fully. The soft swell of her breasts squeezed against Sora's chest. He was suddenly aware of how flush they were against each other and blushed. "You'd think that I was saving your life or something, judging by your reaction," she teased.

Kairi picked up the front end of the boat while Sora picked up the back and they carried it over the sand and into the sea. They waded into the water until it was deep enough to float with both of them in it, staying close to the jetty so that they had something to stabilise against. Sora held onto the boat while Kairi climbed in first. He was about to hop in himself but stopped and looked up when a shadow fell over the boat. He grinned. He would remember that curl of ginger hair anywhere.

"Hey! Wakka!" Sora called up to him.

The tall boy looked over his shoulder and grinned from ear to ear. "Hey! I saw you and Kairi coming down here holding hands and all, ya. I was waiting for you two to notice I was here."

Sora grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Ain't even a thing. We woulda met up on the island. That's where you're going, yeah?"

Sora nodded. He could see what Kairi meant when she said 'different'. The Wakka he was looking at now only vaguely resembled the boy Sora remembered. Now Wakka was so much taller and bulkier. His jaw was squaring off a lot more and his red hair was creeping down the sides of his face. Sora wondered if they would eventually grow into full-blown sideburns or stop halfway. He still dressed in yellow – yellow overalls and a pair of yellow, rubber-soled sneakers. Wakka raised his arms above his head and stretched them. Sora couldn't help but notice how incredible he looked with a more muscular body.

"If you're going to the island, where's your boat?" Kairi asked. Sora tore his eyes away from Wakka and looked around. He looked under the jetty to see if there was anything floating on the other side but Kairi's boat was the only one in the water.

"I don't need that old thing anymore," Wakka laughed. "I'll swim."

"All the way?" Sora said. He looked out across the sea. The small play island was well within view but it looked far. Sora was certain that it would take him hours to swim there just going one way.

"Yeah all the way, ya. I'm training up for Blitzball."

"Blitzball… Blitzball…" Sora muttered. "Isn't that a game you and Tidus made up?"

"Yep, that's the one. Some of the adults were pretty impressed with our game so they're setting up a league. By this time next year, Blitzball will be an official sport."

"That's so cool!"

"You betcha! I turned in my boat so that I'd have to swim to the island whenever I go. Gotta make it in one breath."

"There's no way you can do that!" Sora exclaimed.

"Nah, not yet," Wakka shook his head. He stood on the edge of the jetty, shaking his muscles out. "But I've done it in three before. Reckon today I can make it two. Whaddya say? I'll race you two to the island?"

"I don't think I can even swim that far," Kairi said.

"You'd win by a mile," Sora added.

"What about in the boat? Do ya think you could beat me there?"

"That hardly seems fair…" Kairi started.

"You're on!"

"Sora!"

"What? He's already so good at his swimming, it's not fair to have a swimming race with him. But swimming versus rowing? That's a more even match."

The boat rocked dangerously as Sora jumped in and took up the oars. Kairi sighed but was smiling nonetheless. "Don't go too fast."

"Kairi, it's a race."

"You ready?" Wakka called down to them.

"Only if you are," Sora replied.

Wakka grinned and turned to face the sea. The splash as he dived into the water marked the start of their impromptu race.


	14. Riku's Wish

Riku took up his usual perch on the crooked trunk of the paupu tree and gazed onto the empty horizon. Only a year and a half ago he would sit here looking at that thin line and wondering what wonders lay beyond it. Now that he knew, there was no awe to be found from looking at it, only a simmering terror deep in his heart from having seen – having _felt_ , even – the darkness that swirled throughout the universe. If only… if only they could just stay on their islands forever. It certainly seemed that way right now. Riku had never felt so light in weight now that the dark days were behind him. The dread he felt at having to return to his home was no longer burdensome to a boy who had drowned in a black sea of darkness for one and a half years, only to emerge somehow still breathing and bathing in the glorious golden glow of another's heart.

He leaned forward to look around the tree's dramatic bend and see the pier. Wakka, Sora and Kairi were standing there, having a jolly conversation. Wakka was so drenched his usually gravity-defying hair was leaning to one side of his face. Sora seemed really excited about something. Riku could already guess what that was. Tidus had mentioned that Wakka was in on the Blitzball nonsense too and Sora was still so easy to impress, even after all he'd been through. Riku spotted Tidus and Selphie running down the beach from the other side of the island. Tidus was shouting to the kids on the pier and Sora reached high above his head to wave at the two of them. Kairi turned to see the two approaching but only gave them a passing glace. Her eyes travelled upwards until she and Riku were locking eyes at a distance. They smiled knowingly at each other; two friends with big secrets that they wouldn't tell. So Riku just closed his eyes and leaned back to bask in the rising sun.

* * *

It was the middle of the day and Riku hadn't moved from his islet. He watched the horizon and watched over his friends like a sentry. At some point Sora had come up the ladder from the sea to greet him. He'd expected his sunny friend to ask for a spar or a race but instead Sora was inviting him to swim with Tidus, Wakka and Selphie. He refused. They were still in the water now. Wakka and Tidus were having competitions in diving, holding their breath and racing. The record-breaking times they were setting all seemed impossible but they were doing it somehow. Selphie was half-interested in what her friends were doing but spent most of her time diving to the bottom and picking up shells, coloured rocks and other interesting things. Every now and then she would swim back to the pier and pile her findings up on the edge when she could no longer carry them all in her hands. Sora pitched in since no matter how hard he tried he could never match the boys in the water and together he and Selphie had amassed a sizeable collection. Neither of them had enough pocket space to carry all of those back home.

Riku hopped off the trunk of the tree and returned to the island across the bridge. He kept his eye on his friends playing in the sun. Well, he was keeping an eye on Sora. Wakka and Tidus were done fooling around in the water and were now fooling around on the sand with a blue and white ball. Sora and Selphie were sorting through their collection of things and throwing their rejects far out to sea. It looked like it was turning into a game and quite a competitive one.

He came down to the beach via the shack, hoping to bypass everyone as he made his way to the cave beside the waterfall. The opening was narrower than he remembered but then again, he was much bigger than he was a year and a half ago. His broad shoulders and back scraped against the rough, rocky walls of the tunnel and he had to keep his head ducked right until he reached the chamber at the end. It was here that he found his missing friend.

"I thought I might find you here," he smirked, striding into the sunlight. "Come on, we're all outside having fun without you."

Kairi turned to face him, taking her eyes off the strange door at the back of the cave. It wasn't all that strange anymore now that they kind of knew where it went. Riku actually missed the days when the world was more mysterious. It was more exciting that way.

"I just wanted to see this place," Kairi replied. Her eyes flickered over the walls and the white scratches all over them. "I haven't been back to this island for a long time too, you know. This cave has all of my favourite memories."

"You and Sora played in here a lot," Riku remembered, glancing at all of the drawings. She nodded and the two of them fell into companionable silence. Riku looked up, shielding his eyes against the sunlight that seemed all too bright in this small, dark space. Blue sky greeted him through the hole in the cave's ceiling. The day still had a few hours of light left.

"We probably won't be able to hang around in here anymore if we grow any bigger than we are now," Kairi chuckled. Riku also allowed himself a quiet laugh, as it had been quite an ordeal for him to enter the chamber.

The sand was so fine that it squeaked as Kairi walked towards him. As she stepped into the cascading sunlight Riku blinked and did a double take. He thought that for a moment all of the pink and red had been washed out of Kairi, leaving a pale, white, blonde figure. A name was prodding at the back of his skull but he couldn't for the life of him remember. It was only a split second and then the image was gone.

"Thanks," Kairi said.

Riku was taken aback by the suddenness. "For what?"

"For being my friend," Kairi elaborated. She shuffled her feet and looked down. Riku waited until she lifted her head and continued, "Sora too. You two are my best friends. I would have been really lonely without you."

"You don't have to thank us for that. We like being your friends and we'd do it even if you took us for granted."

Kairi grinned. She walked on past Riku to leave but he didn't follow. When she was well and truly gone, Riku stepped out of the light to get a better look at the walls. They were completely cluttered with white pictures. Most of them were just childish scribbles, like that rock with a face drawn on it. Some of the pictures were games and there were some weird things that looked like amoebas but Riku was sure they weren't supposed to be. A huge drawing of a big bird looked very competently drawn but for some reason it had been crossed out.

A particular portrait made him stop in his tracks. He crouched down to its level. Sora and Kairi had done it when they were very small and just getting to know each other. They had tried to draw each other. It was easy to tell Sora's attempt apart from Kairi's. Hers was neat and filled in tidily. His was a mess of wonky lines. However, Riku hadn't seen the new additions before. He ran a hand over the picture gently. They had each drawn themselves giving the other a paupu fruit. Riku felt his heart wither and sink to the edge of a familiar dark abyss. Just because this didn't surprise him doesn't mean it didn't still hurt.

" _Just wait,"_ he told himself, _"if I wait long enough I'll get over it and the hurting will just stop."_

He'd been waiting for two years for the pain to just stop but he kept believing that it would eventually. In all that time he had known about Sora's feelings. It seemed they hadn't changed and in the end Kairi had reciprocated the sentiment just as he had hoped she would. He pushed them together because that's what made Sora the most happy and Kairi seemed happy to be with Sora. Even if they would never know it, they'd both taken his feelings for granted and he was fine with that. Or at least he told himself he was fine. Because he wanted Sora to always smile as beautifully as he did when he saw Kairi. Riku wished more than anything for his friends to be happy, for the islands to stay right where they are and for everything to stay bright and warm and cheerful forever. He'd destroyed all of those things before; ruined them for everyone. He hoped now that he was older, stronger and wiser he could do a better job. But it hurt a lot. It really, really hurt.


	15. Sora and Selphie

Sora squinted up at the bright blue sky above them. It was already mid-afternoon – how time could fly! He deposited his findings from the seafloor onto the growing pile that he and Selphie had been collecting. The shells, rocks and other objects tumbled off the peak and down the sides. Nine small tentacles wiggled their way out of one of the shells and crawled the rest of the way down the mound to jump off the edge of the pier. Sora giggled. That one had actually been alive. He wished it hadn't run away so quickly so that he could apologise for disturbing it. The clacking of more things tumbling onto the pile made him look at it again. Selphie washed the algae and dirt off her hands and climbed onto the pier. She sat beside her pile and stared at it contemplatively. Sora followed suit. He figured it was time for a break from swimming anyway. Tidus and Wakka were also trudging out of the surf to flop down on the beach and sunbathe for a while.

Selphie sighed. "There's no way I'm going to be able to fit all of those in my pocket," she moaned, looking over to her neatly folded dress. She and Sora had stripped down to board shorts and bikini, rather than weigh themselves down like Wakka and Tidus did.

"Hey, I could help you carry them back," Sora offered.

Selphie raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at the pile pointedly. It was almost as high as their shoulders. "Thanks, but I don't think we'll get these back to my place even with the help of your pockets."

"Well then we'll have to throw some back."

Selphie groaned and threw her head back. "But we spent all that time collecting them! I don't want to throw them back."

"You need to compromise," Sora shrugged, taking one object off the top and examining it. It was a shell but it was already broken. "Let's go through the pile and get rid of anything broken. Or anything that doesn't look as interesting on second glance."

Selphie sighed but picked up a rock from the bottom of the pile. It was half blue and as smooth as a bubble. It was the chalky kind too, they could have used it to make paint or just as chalk. But apparently Selphie didn't find it interesting anymore because she threw it back. Sora whistled quietly as he watched the rock arc high over the water and land with a _plop_ several meters away. He'd never noticed that Selphie had such a mean throwing arm.

She smiled at Sora. "You know, I think this could actually work out."

The two of them began the task of sorting through the pile, building up a secondary pile of things worth keeping and throwing the rest as far away to sea as they could. This eventually turned into a game between them. They took it in turns to throw something back and tried to see who could throw further. As the game wore on it got slightly more competitive and their previous method of simply guessing distances wasn't accurate enough. They each held on to an unworthy item until the other had also acquired one and threw them at the same time, judging the relative distances. Selphie was one of the last people that Sora expected to give him a run for his money.

The pile dwindled until all that was left was a smooth, sea green shell. Sora picked it up. It had remained intact despite being at the very bottom of the pile and it was beautiful. He turned it over and the curved underside was smooth and pearlescent. The colour was different, but he recognised the shape of the shell.

"Hey, we found a lot of those," Selphie remarked. "I guess that's not really surprising."

"It's not?" Sora said, giving Selphie a confused look.

"No," Selphie laughed. "The thalassa take advantage of the colder water when there are less predators around to shed their shells for mating. Then they grow them back quickly before warmer currents bring all the big creatures back."

"I didn't know that," Sora said, scrutinising the shell in his hands as if more information would just suddenly pop into his head if he did. "Shells come from creatures?"

"Yeah," Selphie said with a 'no duh' tone in her voice.

"How'd you know that?"

"I've been doing biology at school," Selphie replied, beaming proudly. "It's just one of the random things I learned in class one day. That's probably why you don't know all that much; you haven't been to school for a whole year." Selphie poked Sora in the forehead and pushed playfully. Sora stumbled.

"Um, I guess," he said, going cross-eyed to look at Selphie's hand before she took it away. "I can't say I missed it. But it sounds like things have gotten interesting in the higher grades."

Selphie laughed. "No way! School's still awful and I'm not so good at biology. I wish I could take a break from it for a whole year – no, forever!"

"I dunno…" Sora mulled his thoughts a bit, turning the shell over and over and watching the way the opposing sides caught the light differently. "I think after one year I'm ready to go back to being an ordinary kid."

It was something he'd barely had time to think about while he was away. By the time he'd gone halfway across the universe to save Riku, Kairi and his islands he was already dreaming of just going back to the way things were. When he woke up in Twilight Town and met Hayner, Pence and Olette they sparked an ache. It was a small pain compared to the wave of Roxas' despair that caused him to shed a tear. It was a pang of envy because their lives were still so normal. Even after their little adventure into the mansion, their lives still maintained that routine normalcy that the investigation only provided a slight reprieve from.

"Hey, Sora, are you okay?" Selphie asked. She leaned over to look into his face.

Sora blinked and lifted his head, unaware that he'd let himself droop like that. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"It's just that… just then, you looked…" she started. She furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't really know. You looked really, really sad. I've never seen you that upset before. This stuff makes me feel kinda worried."

"What stuff?"

"This whole going away for a year stuff. I don't know where you went. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't even remember you leaving… or that you were away…" Sora's eyes widened as Selphie trailed off. The crease on her forehead got deeper as her thoughts troubled her more and more. She shook the lines off her face and tried to smile but something had ruffled her feathers badly. "Riku's been acting really strange since he came back too. I can't help but wonder if something terrible happened to him. Were you two together when you went away?"

Sora shook his head. Selphie looked down in dismay. "You know, this is actually kind of weird. Did I ever tell you that I used to be super jealous of Kairi?"

Sora shook his head again but his eyes urged her to continue.

"Well, it's true. When we were little I thought that the five of us were really good friends but when Kairi came it felt like we were gradually coming apart. Bit by bit our friendship was being chipped away. Riku wanted to go away to find Kairi's world, Kairi wanted to sail with him to find her home and you just wanted to go wherever the two of them went, especially Kairi." She paused. In the midst of the silence between them Sora noticed stickiness of sea salt and that the breeze no longer felt cold. He rubbed a hand over his skin and found it completely dry. "I'm glad we got to hang out together like this. I haven't felt really close to you for years."

Sora bit his lip. He could tell that that was supposed to be a positive comment but Sora just felt guilty for it. Had he really neglected all of his other friends for Kairi and Riku's sakes? What else had he forgotten in the wake of their friendship? Their bond was so strong that it had been able to span the universe but perhaps it had also destroyed a few things along the way. He couldn't come up with a response that wasn't lame or self-depreciating so instead he held out the shell to Selphie.

"Hey, these shells are used to make wayfinders, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Can you teach me how to make one?"

Selphie's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I think I did leave a sewing kit in the tree house." She threw on her dress and started to scoop the objects in their pile into her pocket. Sora pulled on his trousers and did the same.

"Hey, Sora," Selphie said as he was putting the last shell in his pocket. He looked up. "While we're doing this, would you mind telling me some stories about your year away?"


	16. Riku's Vigil

The beach was empty when Riku wiggled out of the cave. Outside the sun felt fiercer than it had in the cave having already risen to the hottest part of the afternoon. Riku patrolled the beach anyway, keeping a lookout for anyone. None of the boats had left the pier, so everyone was still here unless Tidus and Wakka had decided to swim home for the day. However, it turned out that wasn't the case when he found Tidus asleep on the shadier side of the deck. If Tidus was this tired out, Riku figured Wakka wouldn't be swimming anywhere anytime soon. He spotted Selphie and Sora in the tree house with a big pile of shells. It looked like they were sewing or something harmless like that. He eventually found Wakka asleep under one of the straighter palm trees on the islet.

Finding Kairi proved to be trickier. She hadn't really done much since she got here, so she probably wasn't asleep. Riku continued scouring the beach and went around to the other side of the island. He caught sight of her almost immediately. She had climbed up their little look out structure. The useless little windmill spun in lazy circles. Tucked away in there she was almost hidden but could see further than she could on the ground. However, that was fairly useless because from this side of the island the only thing one could see was ocean. She looked so still that Riku wondered if maybe she really was asleep. He decided not to disturb her anyway, just in case.

He kept walking until he reached the cove where the little grove of palm trees grew. The star tree on the cliff behind them perched imperially like a Christmas decoration. It suddenly pinged to life like a light bulb. Something had touched it. It was a unique tree in that it was able to feel its surroundings and lit up at strange sensations to startle whatever had touched it. That was the tree they used mostly for keeping track of whoever was ahead in a race. Riku smiled at the memory of all of the races he and Sora and run to the tree and back.

He took off his shoes and socks and sat down at the edge of the shore, letting the waves wash up to his feet and steal the sand from under his heels. He'd done the rounds and everything on the island was in proper order. It was foolish for someone as fair-skinned as him to sit right under the sun when there was a perfectly shady grove of trees only a few feet away but Riku had missed the feeling of having the sea so close. He missed being able to touch it. He closed his eyes as more water ran over his toes and just felt the ocean. He could feel the tide wanning, the calm of a sea that was currently at peace and the life that surged like electricity within it.

The waves pulled back again. Riku glanced back to his shoes further up the beach. It had gotten quite hot and he hadn't swum in his home world for ages. He stood up and stripped down to his shorts, flinging his clothes onto his shoes in a messy pile and stepped into the next wave to break on the beach. The cool water was a welcome relief from the afternoon heat. He waded out until the water was up to his shoulders and then took a deep breath as a wave rolled over his head.

There wasn't much to see underwater if he stayed close to the island but he knew how far out he had to swim. The forest of sea grass began patchily but quickly became long and thick. Riku had to swim at the surface to avoid getting tangled in blades of grass and long arms of seaweed. Every now and then there was a clearing where he could dive down deep. Each clearing was unique and ever-changing – you'd never see the same thing in the same place. A sea snake in one of the clearings was startled by Riku's shadow gliding overhead and slithered away into the greenery. In another clearing a hermit crab wearing a particularly lovely blue and pink conch shell scuttled by as a small family of brightly coloured fish swam over it. One familiar clearing had a rocky, perforated reef that interesting creatures were constantly ducking in and out of. He found a trio of colourful starfish and a sea cucumber chilling out in the amiable ocean.

He accidentally scared a small eel back into its hiding spot when he kicked off the reef and shot back up for air. He floated on his back, taking in the sun on his skin and running his hands through the silky surface. He'd missed this. He'd missed this so much. The idea that this wasn't really happening crossed his mind. That he was in a dream caused by someone or something. Even if that was the case, he wouldn't want to wake up from this. The darkness had been so thick, so confining, that he'd lost hope of ever having this heady feeling of freedom again. He'd given up his hope for a chance of saving Sora.

He lifted a hand up to the sky and stared at the water droplets running down his arm. He had made a decision at Memory Tower to throw himself into the darkness and never look back if that was what it took. But of course Sora and Kairi wouldn't have any of that. In the Realm of Nothingness Sora had lifted him onto his shoulders and looked at Riku.

" _No matter what you vow to yourself,"_ his eyes had promised, _"I won't let us be apart ever again."_

Riku lifted his head, surprised to find that he was so far out the island was small enough to fit between his feet. He dove back into the water and began the long swim back to shore.

* * *

The sky began to change colour as sunset approached. The bright blue gave way to bright orange. The quiet on the island had lasted, although Riku couldn't say that he minded. He'd dozed off after his swim, just letting the sun caress him and listening to hushed lullaby of the waves. Now that he'd dried off and the light was fading, it was about time to head back to the main island. A chill ran down his spine at the thought of returning to his house.

He was just about to shrug his jacket on when the island's silence was suddenly broken by a bloodcurdling scream. Riku gasped. It came from the other side of the island. The voice sounded like Sora's. Riku took off running across the cove and down the beach and just hoped that whatever it was, it wasn't big.


	17. Sora Gets Sunburnt

"Damn it!" Sora growled, discarding the now broken shell he'd been working with.

"I told you, you have to do it gently," Selphie said. Sora pouted as he watched Selphie handle the needle drill. It was a special tool for drilling through tough shells for jewellery. She worked the needle in delicate circles and twists until it broke through and she pulled it all the way, making sure the thread was tight before working on the next hole she need to drill. This was already her second wayfinder.

Sora sighed and picked up another shell, making sure it was the right colour before he picked up his needle drill and started on the first hole. This was more difficult than he'd given it credit for and having such large hands and fingers really wasn't helping. Fine work required the kind of dexterity that he hadn't quite mastered yet. He'd only successfully strung three shells together so far and it was already getting late. The island had been quiet since the late afternoon. Everyone must have been too tired from the morning's games to keep going all day.

Selphie stood and shaded her eyes as she looked into the sunset. She sighed. "It's getting kinda late. Mom will want me home before it's dark."

Sora made a small noise of disappointment and gave Selphie and doleful puppy-eyed look, begging her to stay and continue the sewing. She laughed lightly at his expression and crouched down to pat him on the head like a puppy. "What's with the cute face? You know, you can borrow the sewing kit if you want. And you can have those thalassa shells. I just want these ones." Selphie scraped a small selection of thalassa shells, spirals and conches towards herself.

"Then how are you going to finish your wayfinder?"

"I have a sewing kit at home and so does my mom," Selphie shrugged, putting her shells away. "Hey Sora, are you sure you don't want to tell me about your trip?"

Sora looked down at his half-finished wayfinder. Selphie had been happy to chatter the afternoon away about the happenings on the island while he was away. She even threw in the hottest gossip as a bonus. But Sora couldn't bring himself to tell her much about his adventure, not after the mayor's scrutiny. Every now and again he would let something small slip – vague descriptions of the places he'd been and passing mentions of people he'd met – but nothing that could constitute a story.

"Truth be told, there's not all that much to say," Sora lied, plastering on a grin for her. "You already got most of it."

Selphie gave him a sceptical eye. "Sure I did. You know I'm your friend just as much as Kairi and Riku. You can tell me things. If you need to keep it a secret, I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"You just gossiped about practically the entire town!"

"No I didn't. I only gossiped about the ones who didn't ask me to keep a secret." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "But if you want to be that way, fine. Just don't keep it all bottled up, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

They gathered up all the things they were taking home with them and came down from the tree house. Sora started jogging to the pier to pick up his shoes, shirt and jacket when a suddenly exclamation from Selphie stopped him in his tracks.

"Whoa! Sora, your back is _really_ sunburnt!"

Sora turned to look at her and then tried to look at his own back over his shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you have an exoskeleton." Sora raised a confused eyebrow. "It looks like a lobster's back," Selphie explained.

"Damn! She's right!" Tidus piped up from nowhere. Sora turned sharply to his right and found the blond right beside him.

"How'd you sneak up on me?" Sora asked.

Tidus snickered. "Sora, you're so spaced out that's it a wonder if someone _can't_ sneak up on you."

Selphie rolled her eyes. "Right. And Tidus, you can't talk about Sora's back. You're sunburnt _everywhere_!"

"Your face is sunburnt everywhere," Tidus retorted.

"Really? Is that the most creative comeback you can think of?" Selphie deadpanned.

"No, I actually mean that."

"Yeah, your face really is sunburnt," Sora said.

"Oh." Selphie prodded her cheeks. They had the hot, painful feel of very sunburnt skin. "Oh no! I've ruined everything!"

"Ruined what?" Sora and Tidus asked in unison.

"I forgot my sunscreen. Now my skin is going to go really dark."

"Good for you," Tidus said. "You skin was looking really pale. I keep looking at you and thinking you're sick or something."

"I wanted it to look like that! Like how Kairi and Riku are really pale, like a white clay doll."

"Riku has a genetic condition," Sora reminded her. "That's not a good thing. And why would you want to look like a white clay doll? Those things are so creepy."

Tidus shuddered. "Yeah, tell me about it. I got sick a few months back and had to have one in my room for a week. I could barely sleep."

None of them noticed when another person joined the group. They'd become so preoccupied with checking out the redness of their skin. Suddenly Sora felt a sharp, painful pinch on his back, right on his spine and between his shoulders like he'd just been pierced with a thick, hot needle. He screamed high and loud. Selphie and Tidus almost leaped out of their skins. Their newcomer laughed as Sora scrambled to try and reach whatever was painfully stuck to his back. When they caught a glimpse of it – and as soon as their hearts had calmed – Selphie and Tidus also found themselves unable to stop the giggles.

"Aw, c'mon man. That's pretty mean," Tidus said, flicking away the hermit crab latching onto Sora's back for dear life. Sora hissed at the added pain of having it ripped off. He glared at Wakka, who was laughing hard at his own prank.

"I couldn't help it," Wakka said. "I feel like you haven't been around forever so that was for old time's sake, ya."

"Yeah, old time's sake…" Sora mumbled bitterly, trying to massage the point where he'd been pinched. As well as glauco fights, pinching someone with a hermit crab was another childish and painful game they used to play.

Selphie laughed louder, seeing Sora's put-out expression. "Why do you look so bitter about it? It didn't even leave a mark, you're fine."

"But it hurt."

"Sora!" Riku and Kairi called from down the beach. He turned and spotted them both running towards him. Riku was far ahead and reached him first, glaring at the other three before asking:

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sora replied hesitantly.

"Shouldn't it be?" Tidus added. Riku gave him an icy steel glare.

Kairi doubled over to catch her breath when she finally caught up. "I… I heard you… scream," she panted.

"It was just a stupid prank, nothing to worry about," said Sora, grinning at them. He took in both of their appearances and then suddenly started laughing. Kairi and Riku looked at each other as Tidus, Selphie and Wakka started to join in.

"Riku, you look like someone tried to roast you!" Selphie snickered.

Kairi giggled. "You know, she's right."

Riku sighed and shook his head. "You guys can still be so immature. Are you ready to leave now?"

"Yeah. I suppose so," Kairi said.

"Then let's all go home together," Sora suggested.

"Do we have enough boats for everyone?" Tidus wondered.

"Yes, we do," Selphie said, giving him a strange look. "Three boats and six of us, we'll easily fit. Or were you looking for an excuse to just ditch us and swim home?"

"I wouldn't swim home when it's getting dark," Wakka advised. "The predators are more active."

"Then we're settled," Sora said with a shrug. "Let's just go."

"I'll go with Sora," Kairi said quickly.

Sora's face lit up while Tidus' jaw dropped. Riku's face also dropped gloomily but he did his best to hide it. Selphie noticed Tidus' jealous pout and clapped him hard on the shoulder. "Don't act like you're stranded here. You can come with me."

Riku and Wakka looked at each other. Wakka just shrugged and Riku nodded.

With their arrangements quickly sorted, the six friends climbed into their boats for the journey home. Sora looked back at the play island as he rowed away from it. The whole day had seemed like an incredible time warp. It felt so normal. Sora smiled and looked at Kairi serenely. She gave him an equally contented smile. The boats glided over the darkening water quietly and the world felt harmonious.


	18. Riku's Experience

The nights were never truly cold on the Destiny Islands, save for a few incidents of freak weather. That night Riku sat on the steps of his veranda with the light behind him, staring out into the dark jungle. His shadow was cast long over the lawn. Behind him the house was warm and smelled like cooking food. He could hear Loz crying while Kadaj bullied him again. Their father was home so he couldn't be too rambunctious but he was flicking his older brother's ear while he was trying to read something. The torture eventually became too much and Loz starting batting him away, which ended with a lengthy round of fighting as Kadaj tried to get his jabs past Loz's defences and Loz cried at him to stop. Riku sighed and hunched his shoulders as he tried to ignore it. He swore that kid was clinically psychopathic.

Another shadow joined him on the veranda and sat down next to his. He turned to his left. Yazoo stared coolly out into the night's darkness and remained silent. It was hard to see his expression beyond that long veil of hair. Then again, Riku digressed; it was probably harder to see his face beyond the long fringe he'd grown out while he was keeping himself blindfolded. It wasn't like he had needed to see through it.

"Why did you grow your hair long?" Yazoo piped up. The brothers turned to look at each other simultaneously.

Riku shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't like I made a conscious decision…"

"You look cool." Yazoo absentmindedly played with his long strands of hair. "You always look really cool to me."

"Um… thanks, I guess," Riku muttered, turning away and scrutinising an empty patch of undergrowth so that he didn't have to look embarrassed.

They were silent for an awkward minute. Yazoo fidgeted with his dry ends while Riku pretended to ignore him until Yazoo suddenly asked: "Why don't you want to tell dad about last year?"

Riku's eyes softened and he turned to face Yazoo. His eyes kept going to see if his father was watching the two of them from inside the house. Satisfied that he wasn't, Riku sighed. "Because last year is complicated."

"Why? I don't remember you leaving. Were you trying to run away from home?"

"Yeah, kinda."

Yazoo nodded understandingly. "Next time, take me with you."

Riku shook his head. "Sorry, kid. The world outside is a pretty dark place. It makes me appreciate being here on the Islands so much more."

"You don't really appreciate this, though," Yazoo said. "Do you? Isn't that why you wanted to leave in the first place, even though you had no idea what was out there?"

Riku's fingers tensed and his jaw tightened.

"I can't talk to dad, I can't talk to mom, I can't talk to Kadaj and I can't rely on Loz. And dad always threatens to cut my hair but mom won't ever say it's wrong."

Riku grimaced. Yazoo was practically afraid of haircuts. It would have been funny if the mention of it didn't bring to mind a time when their father had sliced Yazoo's ponytail off with a kitchen knife. For an entire week Yazoo's face could only switch between expressions of dazed confusion, shock horror and hollowness.

"That's not the reason," Riku said snappily. "I just wanted to see if there was more than this… this world, I mean. I just couldn't help feeling that this place was just too small and that there was something bigger out there. I wanted to explore it."

"Did you do that?"

"Yeah. It wasn't as awesome as I thought it would be. The universe is fucked up."

The conversation dropped off into a sudden silence for a moment. Then Yazoo whispered: "You said a bad word."

Riku rolled his eyes.

* * *

The interrogations for the night were not over. Riku could sense all through dinner that he would not be able to leave as easily as he did the night before. His father was keeping a hawk-like eye on him. Riku could almost see the words that were ready – promising – to drip from his tongue like venom at any moment, it just wasn't clear when.

It was a calculated move. When Riku had just fed himself a large spoonful of food his father piped up: "So, Riku… I think you owe the family an explanation."

Riku froze. He didn't need to look up to know that all eyes were focussed intensely on him. He swallowed, forgetting to chew the rest and it went down painfully in a huge lump. "Sorry," he muttered and he knew it would be annoying because an apology was not the desired response.

"You were gone for a year, Riku," Aram continued coldly, sitting with his chin in his hand and his fingers partially covering his lips. "We thought you were dead or, at the very least, that you were never coming back. And then you suddenly turn up again. We were all very upset."

Riku inhaled and swallowed back the bitter retort that was threatening to spill like vomit. He knew his father's words were true but the tone was disingenuous. "What do you want from me?"

"Riku," his mother, said quietly. "It's okay-"

"Faja," his father snapped, making her shut her mouth quickly. "All I need is for you to assure us that you're fine; nothing's wrong. You have been colder than you usually are."

The corner of Riku's lips twitched upwards. "Maybe you just think that because you haven't seen me in a while. I've only been here for one night."

"Riku," Aram warned.

"Maybe you should just give it time," Faja suggested, putting her hand on her husband's but he still wouldn't look at her. "Riku might be sad and isn't ready."

"That's absurd," Aram snapped, snatching his hand away from hers. She drew back immediately and shrunk into her seat timidly. "I know you to be stronger than any affliction of the mind," he said to Riku and stood, a movement orchestrated by his chair screeching behind him. "Why do you keep hiding the truth?"

"What truth?" Riku replied monotonously. He glanced at his little brothers. They were all facing him but their eyes were darting to their father discretely. Their shoulders were stiff and even Kadaj had the look of a frightened fawn.

"Two nights ago, two shooting stars feel from the sky and landed in the ocean near the uninhabited island," Riku's father elaborated. "The very next morning, you arrive on our doorstep. I don't believe that's a coincidence. You were riding on one of those stars, weren't you? The question is: how did you manage to get among them? Where have you been!?"

Riku's blood was running hot and cold at the same time, filling his body with uneven patches of fury and dread. He tried to ignore what had become painfully obvious to him since the previous morning but he couldn't fight this off any longer.

"… _a year and a half of your life. Imagine… all of that time completely erased."_

He wished so hard that that could be true. Even if he could go back in time and wrangle his fourteen-year-old self to the ground to stop him from leaping into the darkness like a fool he would do it. If only he could be like Sora and have an entire year of his life with essentially no memories and no explanation required.

"I think you probably already know," Riku replied, dropping his cutlery. He stood up and turned to leave.

"Don't you dare go anywhere, Riku," his father hissed. "I'm not finished with you."

"I am." And he ran.


	19. Sora and the White Clay Doll

After the day had been so pleasant the night seemed somewhat boring. The evening had consisted of being tirelessly nagged by his mother about his reddened skin and being chased around the house while she insisted that he rub pawpaw ointment all over his body while she covered his back. She was always too liberal with it and as she began cooking he sat at the dining table trying to rub it in so that it didn't feel so sticky. However, Sora just ended up helping her cook out of fear that she was going to hurt herself somehow. He took over the entire process as soon as he saw her absentmindedly put a hand in the fireplace to bury a foil-covered yam in coals.

"Geez, mom. Where's your head about these things?" Sora muttered, trying to stay light-hearted even though it had frightened him.

His mother sighed. "Oh, I don't know. It would have been alright, you know. I've gotten along just fine without you for a whole year."

"You put your hand in a fire," Sora stated, looking at her. She crouched beside him, concentrating on the food roasting in the coals and pushing the coals around with the fire iron wherever she deemed that he hadn't done a good enough job covering them. He moved closer to her and watched the coals as they were shifted. "I'm just glad I was able to come home and find you still alive," he joked.

"Me too."

"Huh?"

Sora turned to look at her. Dawn kept her eyes on the cooking but her mind was far away in some melancholy place. Sora really wanted to pry but he wasn't sure if it was the appropriate thing to do right now. The fire eventually got too warm to stay beside and both of them moved over to the sofa to see what was on TV. There was nothing but news so they watched that anyway. Sora sprawled out over most of the couch with his legs hanging over one arm and his head in his mother's lap. As she ran her fingers through his hair he began to doze off and she observed (with a bit of downheartedness) that the earthy brown she was used to had faded to a blonder colour.

The whole house was quiet; television faded into background noise while Dawn just fondly appreciated having her son around again. Her lips twitched as she tried to ask questions but they never formed. She just asked herself in her head: "Sora, where have you been? What did you do there? Why didn't I know? Why didn't I remember?"

Suddenly Sora sat up. His mother started and blinked bemusedly. "Sora? Is something the…" She sniffed the air. "Oh! Dinner smells ready. I'll deal with that, can you go upstairs and get Sunni?"

She got up to go back to the cooking while Sora switched off the TV set.

"Sunni?"

"Yes, Sunni," she replied, reaching for the pot and then pausing when she realised that oven mitts would probably be appropriate. "She's still upstairs."

"Um… right, okay."

Sora jogged up the stairs and stopped at the front of the hall. There were only three rooms and his was the second door. His mother's was at the end. Sora slowly approached the first door and reached for the knob. He froze. 'Sunni' didn't sound like a real person's name to him, or at least not a person he knew. If he tried to think about who Sunni was to him, all he could conjure up was a foggy memory of a drawing of a person; orange and blue crayon scribbles like a child's drawing. It dawned on him that he actually didn't remember what lay behind this door. He hadn't remembered his father or their piano, he'd only barely remembered his mother, what else could he have forgotten? He pulled away quickly and headed to his own room instead.

He burst into his room hoping to relax from the stress of remembering but it wasn't as empty as he thought it would be. Long, thick pigtails that matched the orange in his scribble-memory rested on the floor as a little girl in a light, blue dress was crouched beside his bed and rooting around beneath it for something.

"Hey! You!" Sora exclaimed. The girl froze for a moment then lifted her head up and turned to him so quickly that her pigtails whipped around. "You're… Sunni."

"Yeah…" she replied sassily. Her dark green eyes narrowed in a glower.

They stared at each other and Sora had to quickly look away. It was even more awkward that she was someone he should know well and yet he didn't. Any memory he tried to conjure of her only looked like scribbles. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel about her. A number of familiar emotions bubbled shyly to the surface of his heart but he didn't know if it was a memory of how he was supposed to feel or simply a reaction to the current situation.

" _I wonder… if this is how Roxas used to feel."_

"Well, what are you doing in my room anyway?" Sora said, settling for irritation.

Sunni bent down to continue searching under the bed and finally managed to pull out what she was looking for. It was a white, hand stitched ragdoll but its disproportionately large head was made out of white clay. It had markings etched and painted all over the head and crude facial features were moulded into it. This face had large, hollow eyes and a gaping mouth that turned downwards in a frown. Sora recoiled at the creepy sight of the thing.

"I came to get this back," Sunni answered.

"A white clay doll?" Sora asked. They were stitched and moulded by magic weavers and then had spells mixed in with their stuffing. As for what they did, it depended on what was asked of the magic weaver who made it. Some were made to promote healing, others were made to absorb ghosts and when their heads were broken the magic inside them would dissipate (any ghost or spirit trapped inside would be forced to dissipate with it). "Wait… has that been under my bed the entire time I've been here?"

"Yep. You were gone for a long time but I think I forgot about it or something," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. Sora's heart sank into his gut when he realised that even a little girl like her realised that something about his absence wasn't right. "I don't know why but I forgot about you and why this bedroom was here. Mom was really upset and she kept cleaning this room up and wouldn't let anyone move or take any of your stuff away. But I didn't know why. And there was a weird energy in the room whenever I came in. I thought there was a ghost in here so I asked Lulu's mom to make this." She held up the doll. "But I guess there wasn't a ghost."

"What do you think the energy was, then?" Sora asked, looking around his room nervously as if he expected to spot a ghost floating around it.

"Maybe it was just me trying to remember you. Anyway, we don't need this anymore." Sunni took the doll by the feet and swung it from her shoulder, smashing the head on Sora's bedroom floor.

"Hey! Did you have to do that here? Why did you even have to do that?"

"Sorry, I was making sure there really wasn't a ghost. Figured it was better to not take chances."

"You so have to clean this up."

"Nuh-uh! It's your room."

"You made the mess!"

"Kids!" Dawn interrupted from downstairs. "Are you coming down for dinner?"

"Oh, right," Sora remembered. "I was meant to come and get you."

"Okay," Sunni nodded. She dropped the doll's body in the middle of the room and darted past him. "Last one downstairs has to clean the mess!"

"No fair! You got a head start!" Sora complained. Sunni just giggled as the raced down the steps as fast as she could. Sora just smirked and leaped over the balustrade, knowing that he could safely land with precisely timed Glide magic and still win. Sunni reached the bottom of the stairs with a big smile, thinking she'd won. Then she spotted Sora. He stood up and folded his arms, raising an eyebrow smugly. "I win. You have to clean up the mess you made."

Sunni stuck out her tongue. "It's still in your room."

"No way, we had a deal."

The clatter of a wooden serving spoon falling got their attention quickly. They both assumed the worst on instinct but when they turned everything seemed in order. Except that Dawn was gaping at Sora with abject terror.

"S-Sora… did you just…?" She pointed at him and then upwards, going back and forth a few times.

"Ehehe…" Sora chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I might have."

"Just… oh my gosh." His mother patted her heart to soothe its racing. "Please don't ever do that again."

"Um… yeah… sorry."

* * *

In the end, Sora compromised that he and Sunni would clean the clay mess on his floor together but he would only hold the dustpan while she swept. When she was done he handed the pan to her and she left to take it downstairs, leaving Sora to ready himself for bed.

All throughout the night and the next morning, he didn't even notice the red journal was missing from his shelf.


	20. Riku Meets the Doll Maker

He couldn't run all night but he couldn't stop. He kept his ears closed off to his surroundings, only vaguely recognising bird calls, rustles and the sound of someone following him. At the edge of the jungle he stopped and stared at the little lights of the village on the hillside while he breathed. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to stop here but he was aware that his chaser was catching up. Perhaps he had just unconsciously decided that he had to stop at some point and face whatever it was. He swallowed and hung his head in resignation.

The darkness always seemed to catch up with him. No matter how far ahead he got it was always surging and swarming right behind him until it was able to crash over him again like a tidal wave. The universe already had so much darkness – so much _evil_ – in it and Riku couldn't bear to unleash any more. Every new door opened a corridor to a room with another door. One could run through the universe until they died and never see the end of it.

The halt of the footsteps behind him was accentuated by a small, soft hand grabbing one of his. Riku looked down in bewilderment. He had expected his father to be the one chasing after him but instead he found Yazoo, holding onto his hand for dear life and breathing hard.

"You run… really… fast," his little brother panted.

Riku said nothing; he just gripped Yazoo's hand right back and started to walk. Yazoo kept up with him almost obediently as they started on an aimless wander through the dark, quiet streets. If not for the lights in the houses and the little columns of smoke puffing out of chimneys the town would seem deserted once the sun went down. There was not a soul to be found walking the moonlit streets. They traversed down a path that skirted the edge of the jungle. For a long time the only other living creature they met was a long-legged, long-necked bird that trotted down the path along with them. They weren't close enough to the beach to hear the waves yet but they were starting to hear a quiet _swoosh_ up ahead of them. Then suddenly there was a sharp rustle and a jolt of movement in the undergrowth. It was hard to make out what it was. Yazoo clutched Riku's hand tighter and pulled in closer as they approached curiously. On closer inspection, there was a person rummaging around in the understorey noisily. The dark colours of their clothes didn't help make them any more visible. They had a basket beside them that twitched and wobbled occasionally.

That person stood up and turned to them. They'd picked up something that disappeared into the shadow of its captor almost immediately after leaving the shadows of the leaves. Now that they were standing more in the moonlight Riku could see the knee-length skirt and the small shawl worn off the shoulder. He recognised her – a girl from school.

"Lulu?" Riku piped up, getting her attention. She did a startled double take before tentatively saying:

"Riku? It's been a while. Nobody thought you were ever coming back."

"So I've heard," he replied bitterly. "What are you doing this late at night?"

"A task for mom," she said, lifting the thing she had just caught. A long leg flicked out awkwardly and Riku instantly knew what it was.

"Your mom has you out catching frogs in the middle of the night?"

"It's the perfect time for it." Lulu bent down to quickly shove the frog into the basket before the others could take the opportunity to hop out. "Mom's not quite as capable for the job as she used to be. Say, do you want to help?"

Riku and Yazoo ended up following Lulu along the edge of the jungle. Every now and again she would stop and put her basket down at the sound of something in the undergrowth. They would dive in, hoping to catch a frog but more often than not it was a bird or a small mammal. After hours of rummaging through dirt, mud and branches, and getting scratched or pecked in the face, Lulu suddenly declared that they'd caught enough. Her basket was so full that it wobbled and shook with the movements of several panicky frogs leaping around inside.

"Do you want help carrying that?" Riku asked as she lifted it.

"I can manage."

"Are you sure?"

"You're really eager to help," Lulu appraised, looking at him. It was too hard to read her expression in the darkness. "That's not like you."

"It isn't?"

She shook her head. "You were always off doing your own thing. Did something happen while you were gone?"

"While I was…?"

"This past year. You took off somewhere but you left Kairi behind." She started to walk and Riku and Yazoo followed in step. "Come to think of it, Sora was also away. Is it true that he's back too?"

"Word sure gets around fast," Riku muttered.

"I see. Why are you following me?"

"I thought we were having a conversation," Riku retorted in offense.

"Don't you have a house in the opposite direction?"

Riku set his lips in a hard line. Her wording didn't slip past him: house. Not home, house.

"We can't really go back there tonight," Yazoo interjected. Lulu nodded understandingly.

"Mom will be excited to see you again. I'm sure she has the same questions that I have, maybe more."

Riku didn't believe 'excited' is the best word to describe Lulu's mother… ever. He scratched at his palms as Lulu led the way. In any case, meeting that woman again was better than going home.

* * *

They managed the long walk in the darkness and through some wilderness and ended up in an alcove in the woods, tucked away like a little secret. Colourful, glowing bugs buzzed around the area, adding to the magical feeling of the place. The garden full of crops weren't for food; they were mostly herbs, tubers and flowers. Several of them were poisonous. A little creek meandered through this sloping garden from a spring at the top of the hill and a large tree with weeping branches hung over the pond. A house was built against it in a curious way – the entrance was at the bottom but the rooms were built upwards from there, until the final piece of the building was sitting in the branches.

Inside it was lit warmly by candlelight. It was no surprise; Riku had heard people in the village grumbling about why Lulu's mother didn't get some damn electricity in her house. He wondered that too, most of the time but it did wonders for the shamanic ambience. The walls in every room were adorned with supernatural paraphernalia – everything from masks and weavings to wands and animal parts.

The stairs were so steep that they were more like ladders. The three of them climbed up to the topmost room of the house. It was lighter and warmer in here and there was a putrid, smoky scent coming from the cauldron bubbling in the middle of the room. It was a round room surrounded by benches and bookshelves. Riku shivered when he stepped into it. He'd only ever been in this room once and it was no more pleasant to be in now than it was back then. There were cages and baskets of live animals and jars of dead ones. Dried herbs and internal organs were strung up in bunches on the walls and ceiling or gathered up in bowls. Beneath the awful smell coming from the cauldron was a more permanent odour of earth and spices.

The woman they were looking for sat in a cane rocking chair by the side of the room, sewing a headless doll while a jaguar lounged at her feet. She was a busty woman with long, black, dreadlocked hair and the same red eyes as her daughter. Her dress was all black with a décolletage lined with fur. If she heard them coming up the stairs she didn't acknowledge it. In fact, she didn't even look away from her work until Lulu placed the basket down near her. The jaguar leaned forwards to sniff at it interestedly.

"Thank-you, Lulu," she said, putting the doll to the side and getting up. She stepped over her pet to get to the basket and quickly slipped a hand inside to pull out a single frog. Riku sucked in a breath when he saw it in the light. The bright colours were unmistakable; that frog was extremely poisonous. He looked down at his hands. His palms were covered in a splotchy rash.

"Oh…" he heard Yazoo murmur beside him. "That's why my palms are so itchy."

"I see you had some help," Lulu's mother said, looking over to the boys before saying to her daughter: "You know where the balm is, make sure you offer some to the guests."

Lulu went over to a cupboard to fetch a tub of some pink cream. She generously rubbed it over her palms and through the gaps between her fingers, nudging the tub towards Riku and Yazoo. They each took a large dollop and rubbed it over their rashes. Yazoo sighed at the pleasantly cool feeling of the balm.

"I haven't seen you for a very long time, Riku."

"Likewise, Mama Khimri," Riku replied.

Lulu's mother nodded. She filled a gourd with the concoction from the cauldron and then forced the frog into it. She corked the bottle and put it in the hot ash and charcoal just beside the fire. More frogs we destined to meet a similar fate, judging by how many similar gourds were piled up near one of the desks.

"Won't that kill it?" Yazoo asked.

"No. These frogs migrate to and from the heated pools on the mountain. Some simmering won't hurt them." Khimri reached for another frog, only to pull out one that was green, fat and harmless. She tossed it to her pane-less window, where it landed with a wet slap. The jaguar jumped to its feet to chase it but it hopped out onto the branches and disappeared among the leaves.

Riku tutted irritably. "Lulu, why didn't you tell us you were catching poisonous frogs? Shouldn't you have worn gloves for that?"

Lulu just shrugged. "I feel that gloves diminish the sensation in my hands. I might not be able to tell what frogs I'm catching."

"How was your journey?" her mother suddenly asked.

"My what?" Riku said, breath hitching. Could she know? How?

"Your journey. Last I heard of you was from Sora's mother. She said your little bunch was building a raft. I assumed, when you disappeared for this past year, that you'd gone on whatever journey you intended that raft for."

"Right…" Riku said slowly.

"Tell me about it."

Riku blanched. There was no way he could possibly tell her. "Why are you assuming that something actually happened?"

"Why are you being so defensive?" Lulu snapped. "Did you do something bad?"

"It's none of your business."

They both harrumphed and looked away from each other. Khimri sighed, popping another frog into a gourd.

"Lulu, I'd like you to go downstairs and make some bedding for these boys. When you come back, bring some tea as well."

"You're making them stay?" Lulu said, sounding incredulous.

"For tonight, tomorrow or as long as they wish. Going back to a man like Aram is not something I recommend."

Lulu couldn't keep the huff out of her cheeks for a second but obliged her mother and got up to go down the stairs. Sensing that privacy was what Khimri was looking for, Riku turned to Yazoo.

"Hey, why don't you go and help her?"

Yazoo nodded hesitantly, giving Riku the suspicious eye before heading downstairs after Lulu. Once they were gone, Lulu's mother put down the gourd she had just corked and crossed the room to stand in front of Riku.

"Look at me boy," she said in a low voice, lifting his chin with the back of her hand so that they could see into each other's eyes. It was a disconcerting, staring into those eyes. The colour was as opaque and viscous as blood. For now, he could only guess what she was seeing in his.

"The moment I saw your eyes as you walked up those stairs I knew." Riku's blood went cold. Khimri continued: "The ocean in your eyes has grown ever deeper; your mind has aged ten years. No experience in a world such as this would have done such a thing. It's darker in there than it ever has been."

"You can tell, huh?" Riku whispered. She took her hand away and let his head drop.

"Riku…" she turned around to go back to bottling up frogs. "I have always sensed a powerful darkness inside you ever since the days when your heart was only a whisper in your mother's womb. At that time, I told her that she should not continue to carry that pregnancy; I even offered my services to expunge the foetus. She refused, though. Faja had faith in you, even before you were born. I had been very sure of my convictions but over the years, during those times when I occasionally saw you growing up next to Sora and Kairi and your other friends, I became less and less certain. If you refuse to divulge what you know, that's your right. Just let me know one thing based on what your experience taught you about yourself: was I wrong?"

Riku mulled that over. His immediate answer was to just say no but then he wondered further about what his experiences showed him. He had been so reckless and lost himself. Yet he had wrested control of the darkness from those who had tried to control him with it and wielded it himself. In the end, though, it left him and it was all because of one boy.

"No," he replied quietly. "You weren't wrong. My path has been paved by darkness but you underestimated the power of the light to lead me the right way. I've become a person who I think I can be proud of for the right reasons."

"That is a very valuable lesson," Lulu's mother nodded, placing another gourd by the fire. "It wasn't a mistake to keep you." She turned to him with a smile. Riku finally lifted his head, watching her inquiringly through his fringe. "I was wondering if perhaps darkness doesn't necessarily tie with evil. You're a good boy, Riku. And do you know what happened to Sora?"

"Sora's fine. Why shouldn't he be?"

"Mmhmm… I was just curious. Sora is an odd case."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, in my mind Sora's absence feels benign, like a warm departure with a promise of a certain return. Something is amiss, though." She paused to gauge Riku's reaction and this time he was watching her with a hard, guarded glare. "Some time ago, Sora's sister came to seek my services."

"Sunni? What would she want with you?"

"She asked me to make a doll for her, so that she could catch a ghost. She believed there was one haunting the room next to hers but when I asked her whose room it was she said she didn't know. For some reason, I didn't think to ask anything about her brother. It was like we'd both forgotten all about him."

Riku swallowed thickly. "Well… it's not like I'd know anything about that."

"You can tell me anything. Aram isn't welcome here and he hates being anywhere near me or my abode anyway." She finished popping a frog in the last available gourd. She picked up the basket and nudged her jaguar out of her way with her foot before upending the basket out the window. The frogs scurried away into the foliage with loud rustling.

"If I told you something crazy you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," she said, sitting down beside Riku and dipping her fingers in the balm.

Riku rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his fingers. It felt physically difficult to say anything and he actually wasn't sure why. Except that maybe he'd be incriminated by some of the things he had done if he actually had to tell someone. "Okay, but you have to listen and not talk and afterwards don't ask extra questions."

She nodded and let him begin where he wanted to start. Even with a trustworthy ear he still felt the need to omit a great many things from the recount. More specifically, he had to omit the destruction of the Islands.


	21. Sora in the Mangroves

The sky was pink when Sora awoke that morning. He sat up in bed and stared out the window blearily, not used to being awake this early. Actually, he wasn't used to having a set state of time to reference anymore. When travelling between worlds time varied greatly and he never bothered to monitor his sleep-wake cycles. It was especially difficult in worlds that were eternally set in some suspended time state of being either eternally daytime or eternally night-time (or somewhere in between). There was no one who would bother to enforce it anyway. Waking up with the sun was strange nowadays.

The past few days had also felt strange. He'd gone to the play island for at least a little while every day. Kairi and Riku were always there but Tidus, Wakka and Selphie weren't so consistent. It was as if he'd stepped into a weird time warp that took him back to the days before the storm. He went out to play and his mother sewed. Breakfast, lunch and dinner happened at around the same time every day. Almost nothing had changed. Yet he felt as though something should have changed, since he'd changed a lot, he was sure of it. His life had slipped back into a routinely normalcy that he'd forgotten he ever had.

He wasn't tired enough to snooze an extra couple of hours so he got up and shuffled out of his room to see if anyone else was awake. As he passed Sunni's door he glanced at it curiously. Initially he didn't remember a lot about her but the more he saw her, the clearer his memories became. The first ones to come back to him were the warm ones that he wanted to remember of a sweet girl, if a little shy, who cuddled and snuggled affectionately while the family was alone. Memories of the three of them curled up on the sofa on an unusually cold night, swinging on a hammock with a little girl on his lap and building elaborate (albeit childishly amateurish) sandcastles on the beach with shells, twigs and leaves made his heart leap. But darker memories swirled into the mix of a girl who was snappy and standoffish, especially towards his friends. Most especially towards Kairi. He wanted to pull them back but they were usually too vivid: Sunni shutting a door sharply in his face when he invited her to play on the island, slumping huffily in a rowboat while she waited for Sora to take her home and being nowhere to be found when he asked her to wait for him on school mornings.

Her door was closed and all was quiet behind it, so he continued downstairs. Briefly, he recalled that the sewing machine had been running until very late last night. When he got to the ground floor he noted with amusement that his mother's workspace looked like a cyclone had blown through. There were patterns and rags on the floor, chalk and scissors too. Pins and pin cushions were all over the place and the pieces of a few new patterns were taped to the window frame. A couple of outfits were hanging on a clothing rack all to themselves. They were short, swanky and shimmery; either they were for a performance or someone was just getting a very special gift. His mother must have pulled an all-nighter.

As he began to make his way to the back door he briefly wondered if that meant she was also in bed. His feet automatically took him outside. The morning air was cool and as salty as always. The sound of the waves was a lonely one as the creatures of the islands patiently waited for the sun to creep over the horizon properly, even if they were already up. Then there was a tiny burst of light on the horizon as a sliver of the sun's disc sent the first sunbeams of the day across the ocean and a bird began to call.

He looked around the veranda. They had a wooden bench with a matching small table on one side. He breathed slowly as he wondered if his father built that for them, he didn't recall them ever not being there. On the other side there was a hammock strung up between beams. Someone was asleep in it with a blanket tossed over them. Sora crept up to the hammock and pulled the blanket aside. It was tucked in tight and it disturbed the woman beneath it. Dawn groaned and cracked an eye open. She peered over the edge of the blanket to check the sky.

"Sora, it's so early," she moaned, burying her face in the cushion she was using as a pillow.

"Long night, huh?" Sora grinned cheekily.

"Yes," she grumbled in a muffled voice. "Now be a good boy and let your mother sleep." Sora giggled as his mother pulled the blanket up to her face. Drowsily, she added: "If Timbo and Syka come around, just give them their order – they've already paid."

Sora nodded, even though she wasn't looking. There was a knock on the front door, giving him an excuse to be leaving. He opened the door, expecting it to be one or both of the two people his mother mentioned (not that he knew who they were). The person on the other side was a large, muscular man with jet black hair and a lopsided grin. He was scarred and scruffy – he hadn't even put on shoes or a shirt – and he exuded an air of absolute confidence. He was familiar to Sora yet for some reason alarm bells were going off in his mind. Sora couldn't place the face to a name, it was all a jumble again.

"Hey, Sor'," the man said, patting him on the head. His hand was heavy, or was that just his strength? Sora was already starting to think that he was right to be even a little bit intimidated by this man. "Is Dawn in?"

"Uh, she's…" Sora scrambled for something to say other than 'yes', "… occupied. Why do you want to see her?" It crossed Sora's mind for a moment that this was, in fact, Timbo but the outfit on the rack seemed at least two sizes too small for this guy. Despite his better judgment, he asked: "Are you Timbo?"

The man laughed loudly. "Geez, Sor', how could you forget your awesome uncle Jecht?"

Sora quickly shushed him. When he got an odd look in response, he said: "My… uh, sister's still asleep, so… you shouldn't disturb her. Anyway, mom can't help you with whatever you want right now so, I dunno…" How did one go about politely telling someone to go away without rudely implying that they were never allowed to return?

"Don't worry, kid," Jecht said, pinching Sora's cheek hard and playfully. "I'll try again some other time."

Sora rubbed his aching face as Jecht turned around to leave. He didn't remember what it was but something about that man set him off. Was he actually his uncle or did he just like to think of himself as such? Sora watched him take the road along the beach heading towards some dark green wilds. He hung back for a moment and just watched, making sure that the man wouldn't know he was spying before he slid out of his front door. Perhaps it was time to start trying to actively remember things, rather than wracking his brain for memories that weren't coming easily, especially when they left him unsettled like this guy.

He discretely followed the man down the vaguely recognisable road to the edge of some unruly mangroves. His memories slotted into place, confirming the familiar feelings he was having. Within the trees the road narrowed down to a scraggly path and he lost the man while trying to move slowly enough to be quiet in this stinky jungle with its humid, salty air and sticky mud. However, it didn't really bother him. He just had a feeling that he'd find the guy again by the time he got to the end of the path.

The path met with the end of another road, this one loose and sandy. Along it were many more unfenced houses but they were all shabby and old. They stood on stilts, sheltered behind and between mangrove trees. Each house was uniquely built but had in common their state of dilapidation. Chipped paint, mouldy thatch and broken windows characterised this end of town.

Right at the end of the road was a house with intact windows (thankfully). It was hard to tell if it had once been a more flattering shade of green than the snot colour it was now and the white paint on all of the posts, beams and jambs was sporting splotches of grey, sometimes black… something. Jecht was climbing the rickety stairs of this house leading to its veranda. However, to Sora's surprise (although why he was surprised, he wasn't sure), Tidus was also there. He sat on the veranda balustrade, facing outwards and tying up those heavy, yellow shoes he was always wearing these days. Jecht leaned on the balustrade next to him and began to talk, smirking the whole time. Sora couldn't hear what they were saying, nor could he see Tidus' reaction since the blonde's head was bowed. Tidus did eventually finish tying his shoelaces and looked up. The expression on his face was peeved but strained with a large tide of repressed emotion. Jecht clamped his hand down on the boy's head, rocking it a bit before giving him a little push that sent Tidus off the edge. There was a little slope under the balcony where solid, grassy earth rolled down to the sand and mud of the mangrove flats. He landed with a thud but tumbled his way out of a serious injury with some acrobatic grace, rolling down the hill in a cloud of dust and landing with a _splat_ in the mud.

Sora gasped and rushed out of the cover of the foliage to get to Tidus' side. He helped his friend up and tried to brush some of the mud off but Tidus was pushing his hands away to do it himself. "Oh my gosh, Tidus, are you okay?"

He turned to Jecht, teeth bared and positively seething. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sora screamed.

"Oh, hey, Sor'," Jecht said, ignoring Sora's anger. "If you were coming this way anyway you should have caught me up, we could have walked together."

"Ugh, dad, you're an idiot," Tidus hissed, heard only by Sora. The spiky-haired boy turned to the blonde questioningly. Tidus glared at his father and yelled: "he only came to hang out with me, he doesn't want to spend time with an old geezer like you."

Lies. Somehow Sora could tell. There was a subtle hint of insincerity in Tidus' excuse that left him wondering why.

"Hey, c'mon! Who wouldn't want to spend time with a champ like me?"

"Whatever. Let's go, Sora." Tidus grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the mangroves, going off the beaten path.

"Hey, wait a minute," Sora tried to protest, pulling back but Tidus only pulled harder and walked faster until they were deep enough in the groves that nobody would see or hear them. "Tidus, let go! Why are we running away?"

"Running away?" Tidus exclaimed incredulously, letting go so suddenly that Sora almost tripped on his own feet. He turned around. "We're not running from anything. We're just leaving him behind."

"If you hadn't dragged me off I would have gone up there and thumped him," Sora huffed. "Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it!"

Tidus blinked at him in surprise and then burst into laughter. He swung an arm around Sora's shoulders and ruffled his hair. "Man, you're gold, Sora. Don't ever change, you adorable little dork."

Sora wiggled and squirmed, trying to slip out of Tidus' tight grip. "Let me go! Your armpits stink!" That only made Tidus squeeze harder. Sora suddenly had a moment of internal sympathy for poor Pooh Bear, who seemed to always be stuck in some too-tight hole or another. He could swear he heard a pop when he finally got his head free. "And who are you calling little? I'm older than you. Seriously, though, that fall could have hurt you."

"Nuthin' I can't handle," Tidus shrugged nonchalantly, putting his hands behind his head. "I always land on my feet."

"He's done that before?" Sora said, voice rising in disbelief. "Does he do stuff like that a lot? Have you been hurt before?"

"It doesn't matter what happened before," Tidus snorted defensively. "Why were you at my house anyway? And this early in the morning too."

"I was following Jecht here. He turned up at my house and wanted to see my mom-"

"Sora! I keep telling you, just make him shove off. He's only trying to get in your mom's pants and I would rather not have my cousin suddenly become my brother."

"I did turn him away—wait, you're my cousin?!"

"Are you being a goof again or are you trying to piss me off?" Tidus shouted.

"I'm not trying to do either of those things!"

"Then stop doing such a good job of it!"

"Why are we shouting at each other?" Sora exclaimed. A sudden silence dropped between them. Sora took a deep breath. "I got him to leave without seeing my mom but I decided to tail him because… well, I just got some bad vibes. I thought he might be dangerous."

"Pfft, not while he's sober," Tidus muttered under his breath, looking away. He didn't seem to care if Sora heard that or not. "My dad's not dangerous, he's just an asshole. Although I'd understand why he's giving you the heebie-jeebies showing up at your house so early in the morning."

Sora nodded, looking very much like an anxious fawn when he realised that he did have a vague comprehension of what Tidus was talking about. He looked around, trying to find some way to divert the conversation and he took in Tidus' overalls and bright yellow shoes. "Are you going to swim to the island again?"

"Yep," the blonde replied, lifting his arms up to stretch as if he'd suddenly just remembered. "Think today's the day I finally make it in one breath?"

"Totally," Sora replied, more as an encouragement than anything else.

As Tidus swung his arms down to loosen up his muscles the collar of his shirt dipped and there was something dark beneath it. Sora instinctively grabbed it and yanked, paying no heed to Tidus' yelp and protest. There was a big bruise on the back of Tidus' shoulder. Sora swallowed thickly.

"Should… should I have known?" he asked, leaving the context to write itself.

Tidus wrenched his clothes out of Sora's grip, refusing to look at him. "It's no big deal. Dad just wants me to be tough, so I can take on the world, deal with my own problems, all that jazz. Sometimes he's just… over keen." He reached over his shoulder to press the injury, making it ache. Suddenly he turned around and clapped both hands onto Sora' shoulders, still not looking him in the eye despite the fact that they were face to face. "Do me a favour and revert back to a point in time when you didn't see my dad push me off a balcony."

Sora shivered and the chill lingered even as Tidus stepped away to go back to his stretches. "Say, any chance you'd wanna come with me?" Tidus asked, as if that whole conversation hadn't happened.

"I wouldn't make it," Sora managed to croak in his shell-shock. His mind was a whirling mass of chaos, his memories in a complete tailspin. He didn't remember any of this. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just knew that he was learning something completely new while his brain was scrambling to find anything that might have related even though most of it was slipping out of his grasp just as soon as he'd grabbed it; something he should know but couldn't quite remember. "Unless you want to hang with me…?"

Tidus looked at him. Sora expected to see a sober expression but it was the usual sunny grin. "I suppose I can stand to take the easy way out just this once. It's for the sake of my friend."

He patted Sora on the shoulder and steered him off in some direction, Sora couldn't tell which but he trusted Tidus to not screw him over.

At the beach, Sora let Tidus get ahead of him, diving into the surf and speeding away under the surface. Sora took his boat out, going much slower. His fingers shivered with a terrible numbness that he'd never felt, even in front of the great hydra of Olympus Colosseum. Real life was a scary thing and he had no weapons with which to fight it.


	22. Riku and the Dark Side of the Sun

Things looked different and yet they felt the same. For several days Riku's bedroom remained bare of belongings and void of any sort of character, save for the outfit that Lulu's mother had lent him ("given him" she insisted). It was folded up in the drawer under his bed. His father had been quick to sneer at the loose, earthy clothes and spat some derisive comments about Mama Khimri. In all honesty, Riku didn't like the outfit very much either but as long as it irritated his father he would wear it with pride.

The air was still wrapped in the early morning chill and it was barely light outside. For the most part Riku had all but forsaken sleep for most of the previous year. Most of the time he slept badly or lightly. Sleeping in a bed and sleeping deeply was now a foreign experience but it felt good. He'd forgotten how good it could feel to think that he didn't have to be afraid of the dark. And it was the darkness behind his own eyes that terrified him the most.

He slid out of bed and – like every morning before – did his morning routines quickly and quietly. His house was always clean; everything that was meant to shine shone and everything else had an immaculate surface and the sturdy veneer of objects that were very well looked after. The drains were never mouldy, the shelves were never dusty. The air was so clean that it didn't smell like anything. It was a far cry from Lulu's rustic home that smelled like wood and ash, where spiders cluttered the corners with their webs and there was something fuzzy growing on the windowsill. Before, he hadn't been able to express what about Lulu's house endeared it to him so much but after all of his experiences he thought he could finally make a good comparison. That house felt like a different world. Going from his place to hers and imagining there was nothing – no amount of island – in between was like teleporting into a new dimension. It was the same as going to Sora's house. It was the same going to the play island.

Riku planned to leave his house before anybody else woke, like he had every morning since he returned. Even on tropical islands the early morning air had a slight chill but it was a soothing chill, not a prickly ice chill like that of many other worlds. The heat was already rising and the coolness swept over the veranda like sweet reassurance. He was about take step but a sound made him stop. Voices. There were voices in the house. At first he wasn't sure what to make of that since normally nobody was up at this time. It would be better to walk away. Anything that happened at home was usually something that would leave him with a bitter-sour taste in his mouth but he turned around and headed back into the house.

This corridor was only familiar from the outside when he was looking at its doorway from the living room. Every time he stepped inside it felt cold and foreign, like a stranger's place. It was the same as every other room Riku had been in aside from his brothers' rooms: clean, emotionless, polished and smooth. As he walked the voices became clearer until he was standing at the door that he knew to be his parents' bedroom.

"Please stop, this is insane," his mother begged in a broken voice.

"Insane?!" his father screamed back and her response was a frightened whimper. "You're just like all the other weak-minded fools in this world, too blind to see and too cowardly to dare."

"It's not like that. I-I care for you… I can see this breaking you apart."

"Your concern is unwarranted. Next time don't interrupt."

"But-"

"Don't interfere with my work!"

Riku pushed the door open. His parents stood opposite each other with his mother closest to the door and his father over by the window, tensed like a beast ready to pounce. Aram's eyes flashed something golden and dangerous. Faja, on the other hand, cowered near her vanity like a cornered fawn. Riku's eyes darted between them. Then suddenly both men in the room made a move. Aram lurched forward as if he wasn't sure what he was grasping for but Riku reached it before him, grabbing his mother by the arm and yanking her out of the room. She struggled to keep up with his longer stride, yelling at him to slow down or stop as he ran out of the house and out to the street.

* * *

The world sounded muted to him, his ears rang and his only thought was to run, to run as fast as he could until he knew she was going to be safe. Even the visual surroundings didn't make much of an impact on his mind as he turned corners and traversed streets that blurred past in his eyes. Eventually his legs began to ache a little and it gave him the presence of mind to slow down. Only then did the world begin to come back to him, starting with the sound of the ocean waves beating against the shore.

"R… Riku…"

Suddenly he became aware of his mother behind him, huffing and panting. He turned around. She was flushed, doubled over and clutching her shirt, gripping Riku's hand tightly like a crutch so she wouldn't just collapse. Riku immediately rushed to support her properly, letting her lean against his side. She was suddenly much smaller, to his confusion and then he realised he'd dragged out of the house without her shoes on.

"I'm sorry, mom. I just… I thought…" he trailed off. What did he think? That he was changing something for once in his life? That he was keeping her safe?

She put a hand on his chest comfortingly. "It's okay, I understand," she said in her characteristically gentle voice, looking up at him with a grateful smile. "Where should we go, then?"

Riku's stomach sank. He had no idea where to take her if he didn't take her back home but apparently he didn't have to because she snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. "Oh! I know where to go."

This time she took the lead, walking along the beachside hand-in-hand with Riku. He let her take him where she wanted to go, slowing his pace to match her short strides from tiny legs.

* * *

"Wait, mom, isn't this…?" Riku began but didn't need to finish. He knew what he was looking up at – that little blue house on the beach.

His mother didn't pay any mind. She waltzed up to the front door and knocked on it expectantly. They waited for a whole minute, during which Faja knocked on the door again but nobody answered. Not even an "I'm coming!"

"They're not usually gone this early in the morning," Riku said, equals parts concerned as he was confused.

"Maybe she's on the veranda," his mother muttered to herself, letting go of him to run around the house. Riku didn't have to try very hard to keep up.

On the veranda behind the house was a hammock strung up between beams. Faja immediately tiptoed up to the bundle wrapped up in it and lifted the blanket off slightly.

"Dawn… Dawn, it's morning," she whispered.

The bundle groaned and shifted. "I know! Let me sleep."

Faja giggled. "Oh, Dawn. Did you stay up all night again doing a job?"

A dainty hand reached over the edge of the blanket and pulled it down, revealing messy, brown hair and a disgruntled expression. "Yes. It was really important I couldn't afford the possibility that I'd oversleep and not have it finished."

"I know your job is very important but you need to have some time to relax as well."

"I am relaxing! Today is my relaxing day. I'm going to sleep all morning and only do alterations in the afternoon."

Faja rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You need a real rest, Dawn."

Sora's mother harrumphed and averted her eyes. Her gaze fell on Riku and she smiled right up to her eyes. The hand peeking out of the blanket waved. "Hi Riku."

Riku tried to wave but what ended up happening was a casual flap that approximated a wave. "Hey. Where's Sora?"

"He didn't open the door for you?" Dawn asked with a frown, sitting up in her hammock. She was still wearing her clothes from the day before. "He's supposed to be looking out for my clients so he should be home."

Riku shrugged. "He wasn't."

Dawn sighed long sufferingly and looked over the water with a pout. "It's still so early. Why's Sora gone already?"

"You know kids," Riku's mother replied with a sympathetic smile, "always running off and running away. He'll be back; he can't have gone far."

She reached back unconsciously and took Riku's wrist in her gentle fingers. Riku's looked down at the reflex gesture guiltily. Being the source of her insecurity was painful and the regret cut open all of the non-existent scars he had obtained and then Cured away during his travels.

Dawn let out a puff of air. "He's probably gone to the island. He's always off doing something over there these days even though I keep telling him that he's got so much important stuff to do. He's got to go to the supplementary classes before school starts and take the aptitude tests and go to the doctor-"

"Is he okay?" Riku blurted out.

"Yeah, he's fine. He just hasn't been for a while."

Riku's mother laughed so joyfully that it made Riku look at her in alarm. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard her laugh like that. "Riku's been just the same! Especially about the doctor. I can't tell you how stressful it is for me worrying about the two appointments he's missed-"

"Mom! I'm right here!"

Dawn chuckled. "Yeah you are." She sat up a bit more, getting ready to get out of the hammock. She looked down for somewhere to put her feet and did a double-take. "Faja, where are your shoes?"

She looked down at her tiny bare feet apologetically. They were already dirty and sore from the run. "We kind of ran out…"

Riku rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, threading his fingers through his hair.

"Ran out? Like you ran out on Aram? Are you finally leaving that jerk?" In her excitement to get up, she miss-stepped. She tumbled out and onto the floor, blanket and cushion landing on top of her.

"It's not like that…" Faja quickly tried to explain but trailed off.

"Well it's gonna be like that! From now on, it is like that," Dawn declared, picking herself up off the ground. She twisted the hammock up in the middle and flung it over a hook stuck in one of the rafters. Then she picked up the cushion and blanket and tossed them onto the wooden bench messily. "Don't worry about a thing, you can stay here for as long as you want. Riku too."

"No, it's fine," Faja said, waving her hands in refusal. "I'll just go back home this afternoon. Your place is too small to accommodate extra people."

"Trust me, it'll work out. You can stay in my room and Riku can stay with Sora. It'll be like a sleepover but indefinitely."

Faja was about to refuse but Riku put a hand on her shoulder. "Mom, I want you to stay here. I think it's a better idea. I'll go home and deal with dad, make sure the little monsters are okay."

She folded her hands over her chest and looked down. "I'm not sure…"

"Come on, honey," Dawn cooed, pulling Faja into her arms and dragging her to the door. "Let's get you cleaned up, okay? Nothing bad is going to happen so long as you're here. Riku, do you want to come in? I can give you breakfast."

"I already ate," Riku replied. "If you don't mind, I'd rather go and look for Sora."

"Maybe you can wait until he comes back," his mother suggested.

"In all honestly, I doubt he's going to come back here before sunset. I know where he'll be."

"Why don't you at least take Sunni with you?" Sora's mother added. "She's been hiding away in her room a lot this past week, it'll be good for her to get out."

"Yes, go with Sunni," Faja agreed. "I'd worry about you less if you were with someone else."

"I'll be fine," Riku snapped, shooting her an annoyed look that she recoiled from. He immediately regretted it. "I can get by on my own. I would have to learn to live without you someday anyway."

His mother watched sadly as Riku stepped off the veranda and went down to the beach, stalking in the direction of the boats with his hands in his pockets. Nothing changed. The world was still a small place full of terrible things he'd rather never experience and there was no escape. He lifted his head just enough that he could see the broad horizon and the morning sun steadily rising over it. Out there, beyond that sun, there had been a much greater purpose for him but it had come at a great cost.

" _I wonder…"_ he thought, _"if there's a dark side of the sun, like there's a dark side of the moon."_

He continued down to the pier, secretly hoping that he might receive some sign – any sign – that told him that he was destined to leave this world again and re-join the stars in the sky.


	23. Hand in Hand

Another day had been whiled away on the island, a place that was safe and pure. Riku could stare at the sinking sun forever until it swallowed him. It was the same sunset he'd watched day after day before the storm. The paupu tree had the exact same tilt it had always had. The sand, the sea, the sound of the waves, it was all exactly the same as it had been before he left it. Every moment of this day felt like the horizon was steadily creeping in on them, getting closer and closer until it enveloped him like a chrysalis and he remembered so acutely why he'd wanted to leave in the first place. If only he'd never come back.

He was vaguely aware of the door of the shack swinging open and banging on the wall. Sora's unique gait thudded across the bridge – the knowledge that he could identify Sora just from the sound his footsteps made gave Riku a cause to smile – and the boy hopped up on the paupu tree only to jump down on the other side. He leaned against it, folding his hands behind his head and staring out into the horizon as well. At first Riku figured he was just contemplating the cosmos like the sentimental sap he always was but there was something slightly amiss in the way his eyes tensely gazed into the far distance, like they were searching for infinity.

Riku sighed quietly through his nose. He could see what Sora was trying to search for; he'd been searching for the same thing. "Nothing's changed, huh?"

"Nope," Sora answered, quickly, factually, like a comforting anchor that he needed to believe in. "Nothing will."

Was that hope or assurance? Riku paused to contemplate that. The world was still squeezing in on him; he needed to break out of it. "What a small world."

"But… part of one that's much bigger."

Riku's running thoughts suddenly stopped at that and he looked up to the sky directly above him. It wasn't dark yet but already the brightest stars were beginning to shine down on the world. He grinned despite himself. "Yeah."

That seemed to have been what Sora was looking for too because his face softened and his shoulders loosened up. Yes, they were only a small piece of something larger; they'd even seen some of it. And if the world was bigger than they thought then perhaps it wasn't as unchangeable as they'd thought.

"Hey, Riku…" Sora said. There was something that had been weighing on his mind for a while but had been shovelled down under the problems of the main island. But those couldn't get to him out here. Somehow it seemed incredibly important right at that moment. "What do you think it was—the door to the light?"

Riku chuckled and jumped off the tree trunk, turning to Sora and tapping him on the chest. "This." Sora echoed him, putting a hand over his chest and looking down in puzzlement. "Yeah. It's always closer than you think."

Sora looked down at his chest again and then up at Riku, giving him a relieved grin. Relieved from what, Riku wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was just enough to assume it was everything that was pinning him down. Being home again was painful but at least Sora had been fighting the good fight across the universe the entire time. His was the beacon that guided them home.

"Sora! Riku!" They both turned to see Kairi running towards them with something tucked under her left arm. She stopped in front of them, leaning over to catch her breath.

"Hey, what's up?" Sora asked, leaning forward to see if he could snatch a peek at what she was holding but then she looked up and held it out to them.

"Look."

It was a bottle – that much they could already see, even when she was approaching – but the tightly rolled letter inside bore a familiar sigil.

"From the King?"

Sora snatched the bottle from her hands and uncorked it, shaking the note out to unfurl it. Riku stepped closer to his side and Kairi sidled up to him on the other side, both reading over his shoulder at the words that undoubtedly heralded a new destiny. And the three of them would rush to meet it hand in hand.


	24. Sora Wants

They'd stayed out a bit later than they expected to and by the time the trio got back it was already getting dark. Sora regretted living so close to the beach just because it meant that he had to part ways with Riku and Kairi first. He waved them goodbye as they continued going up the road, their figures becoming muddied by the dark of the oncoming night. When they were finally gone he looked down at the bottle and the letter in his hand. It was a peculiar letter and he wasn't sure he understood it completely yet. He rolled up the paper and shoved it back in the bottle.

He went inside, mumbling a greeting to his mother and perked up when he immediately realised that things weren't right again. Nobody was running the sewing machine and the figure in the kitchen wasn't his mother's tall, stocky shape but somebody small and slight. She looked up when she heard him come in. Sora narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. There were so many things about her that looked familiar from the pale features to the shape of her face.

"Oh, Sora, you're home," she said in such a little voice that he almost had to concentrate to hear. "It's getting late so I was starting to worry about you and Riku a bit… where is Riku?"

"Um… he went home," Sora replied tentatively, wondering immediately if that was even the right thing to say. Her calm expression suddenly became edgy. "Where's my mom?"

"She's relaxing, I'm making her relax," the strange woman replied firmly but she was picking up and putting down the kitchen utensils she was using repeatedly. "She's not allowed to touch her work until the sun is up tomorrow."

Sora's eyebrows rose as a tide of memory swept in with more sudden reminders that made him look more bewildered that he actually was. It was difficult to get his mother to do things she didn't want to do, especially stopping her work. Whoever this woman was, she must have had some serious moxie to push his mother around.

Before he could ask her anything else his mother's bedroom door opened and she stepped out, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She'd gotten into her pyjamas early, which meant she really must have been relaxing. She yawned and looked over the rail to survey the house briefly.

"Sora, you're back," she said tiredly, giving him a wave. "Where's Riku?"

"He went home," Sora answered again, frowning. Why were they asking about him? Was there something going on that he forgot about?

"What? Didn't he talk to you today? You were both out at that little island again, weren't you?"

"Yeah. Wait, was he supposed to tell me something?"

His mother just clicked her tongue and shook her head. The other woman finally put the kitchen utensils down and started to scurry out of the kitchen. "It's okay, I'll go and get him."

"No, no! You stay. I'll get him," Dawn said, turning to go back into her room. "Sora, don't let her leave!"

She and Sora looked at each other across the room. Sora's expression was nonplussed while her eyes wavered with guilt. His mother reappeared from her room wearing a blue floral dress and slinging her handbag over her shoulder.

"Mom, why are we going to get Riku?" Sora asked, following her out of the house as she breezed past him. She abruptly whirled around and stopped him with her hands on his shoulders.

"Not 'we', me. Sora, I want you to stay and help Faja with dinner, okay? And make sure Sunni comes out to eat if I'm not back by the time it's ready."

"Faja? Why is she here?"

His mother sighed and cradled his face in her hands in move that was meant to be comforting but it made Sora's stomach sink. Gestures like that often came when there was something wrong. He covered one of her hands with his and stared at her searchingly. "Can't you just explain what's going on? Why does Riku have to be here?"

She looked away, heaving another sigh. "Riku and his mom are going to be having a sleepover at our place."

"How's that a big deal?"

"They're sleeping over indefinitely."

"Again, why?"

Dawn just smiled wryly and patted his face. "I'll talk with you when I get back."

She turned around to leave but Sora gently held her back by the hand. She didn't pull away, just looked back at Sora sadly and he was again having that feeling that something wasn't right and he should know. There was something about Riku that he should know and he didn't actually want to hold his mother back from getting him because there was a little voice in the back of his head telling him – convincing him – that it would make things just a little bit better.

"Is Riku…" he gulped. "Is Riku not okay?"

"Riku's going to be fine, sweetie," she cooed, stroking his hair smooth and smiling when it just popped right back up to its original position. "Just sit tight and I'll bring him back."

She turned and ran up the street in the direction of the jungle and Sora let her go this time. He folded his arms and looked down at the ground, hunched in dismay. Part of a big world and yet stranded on a piece of it that was much smaller. He lifted the bottle to glance at it and then turned to go back inside. It would be okay because if the world was much bigger then things could change. Perhaps not just for him and Riku but for others as well.

Inside, Faja was still there, this time sitting down in one of the dinner table chairs and worrying the skirt material in her lap. She gave him a mousy look and then resumed staring at her hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked and realised how that must have sounded when she gave him a surprised look. "Er, I mean, you don't need help? With the dinner stuff… things?"

She smiled warmly at him. "It's okay. I'm not like Dawn, I've got everything under control."

"Alright then," Sora said, looking down at his message in a bottle curiously. He made his way to the stairs but stopped at the bottom, turning around to speak to her again: "Hey, um, I think my mom really cares about you a lot—that's why she's doing this. So, if you'd just stay, I think that would mean a lot to her."

Faja stared at him, perplexed. Then she looked away and nodded, smiling to herself. Sora's mouth also quirked into a smile and he retreated up the stairs to his bedroom. He turned on the lamp above his desk and sat down at the chair, laying the bottle on its side on the desk. It wobbled back and forth a little when he let it go.

It was an odd letter but it sounded urgent. Extremely urgent. He was torn with the desire to do something but at the same time he had no idea what he should do. Everything was tied together somehow and it had been demonstrated through his previous journeys. Then, perhaps, his journal might hold clues to the secrets in his letter.

He went over to his bookshelf and perused his books, frowning when he didn't find it. He rifled through the contents of all of his shelves, throwing some things over his shoulder. He could have sworn that he'd left it on his shelf. No place in his room went unchecked; he scrambled under his bed, upended his toy chest and flipped his mattress over. He found just about everything except for his adventure journal.

"Sora!" Riku's mother called from downstairs, barely audible through the wooden door. "Are you okay? What are you doing up there?"

"I'm fine," Sora answered, trying to tamp the panic down. "I'm just looking for something, it's not that important."

Except that it was and he was left thinking of a number of frightening possibilities as to what could have possibly happened to his journal.


	25. Riku and the Broken Cage

"… _but part of one that's much bigger."_

Sora's words had struck a chord in Riku and quickly reminded him of something he was gradually forgetting. The horizon at the edge of the sea wasn't the terminus of the universe but rather a promise that there was much more out there and this little island – all of the little islands around it too – was just the piece of it that they were a part of. Pieces within pieces of things that joined with other pieces made up of pieces and became bigger and bigger until they were unfathomably large.

There were things out there that were bigger than them yet made of smaller pieces and anything built can be broken. He tried to stay calm as he walked with Kairi up the hill and said goodbye to her at the intersection where a streetlamp of blown glass stood vigilantly, beginning to glow in the fading light. Then, when she was far away enough that she wouldn't notice, he took off down the branching path leading to the jungle.

He was supposed to go back to Sora's place. He was supposed to stay with his mother, staying safe and keeping her safe. But now that he'd seen something he couldn't back down yet and better sooner than later; there was something he could fix. He could do it right now.

Riku charged through the narrow path in the foliage, so forceful in his excitement that the leaves rustled beside him. He burst out onto the lawn. His steps faltered and slowed, the determined grin fell from his face as he took in what lay before him.

The cage was broken. In the low light the shadows made the mangled iron appear to be jagged claws reaching out from within an amorphous beast. The house was dark and all of a sudden the lawn seemed eerily quiet as if the world was holding its breath. Then from the shadows inside there was a stirring of movement. It stalked towards him, leaving the twisted confines and walking onto the veranda. Against all logic, the shadows followed the encroaching footsteps, pooling and swirling around them like a dense fog. The figure stood on the edge of the veranda and Riku's eyes widened.

"Well, well, Riku," Aram chuckled, lifting the object he held in his left hand. It was shades of grey and double-shafted, adorned in more than one place with a demonic eye and at the end a wicked hook curled over, completing the unmistakable shape. "You decided to come back after all. And with such good timing too."

"Dad, what have you done?" Riku whispered, staring in horror as the shadows gathered under his father and grew up behind him like a rapidly sprouting plant, morphing into long limbs and that dreaded and familiar horned head. Even if he hadn't recognised that yellow-eyed, grim, grinning creature, the heart-shaped hollow in its chest was all that was needed to see it for the monster it was… and the monster the man whose shadow it clung to had become.

"That look in your eyes…" Aram noted, smirking. "Does this look familiar to you? This thing of legend—the Keyblade? And of course, the Heartless." He gestured to the guardian behind him.

"There's nothing like that in our legends," Riku hissed, seething from somewhere deep, deep inside.

"No, there isn't really, is there? You've got a lot to answer for then, don't you? This Keyblade – that occasionally slipped your lips as a childish fantasy of yours – really is real. It's my reward for finally being able to make contact." He grinned with an unfocussed look in his eyes like a man gone mad. "I've heard the voice of the men beyond the sky and they gave me a glimpse of what lies there for those who are unafraid. They gave me the key to take me there."

Riku almost flinched as fear curled inside him like horrific fingers ready to squeeze. The nightmare before him now had haunted him before but in his dreams he saw himself standing at the podium with the darkness at his feet. In many ways, this was actually much worse. His eyes darted from side to side, trying to see inside the house but he couldn't make anything out in the darkness.

"What happened to the others?" he asked, voice trembling with restraint. "Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj?"

His father gave a cursory glance over his shoulder. "They will be perfectly fine."

No words had sounded less reassuring.

"You've kept this from me all this time, haven't you," his father said, walking down the steps, followed ominously by the guardian. "The possibilities aren't all they showed me; I've seen visions from the past you witnessed… you and Sora."

"Then you've seen the consequences!" Riku shouted at him, fingers itching to summon the Keyblade. "That path didn't lead me anywhere worthwhile. I promise it won't for you either."

His father shook his head, chuckling through his lips condescendingly. The grass shrivelled and blackened like it was burned when his boots touched the ground. "I saw your weakness, Riku. I saw you floundering like the blind, unable to grasp opportunity or recognise potential. I only blame myself for not taking more direct responsibility for your education-"

"Direct responsibility!?" Riku exploded. "As if you took _any_ responsibility for anything! You haven't even asked… This isn't about me, this is about you. Stop trying to make me a part of it!"

"You have been a part of it the moment you took your first breath in this world," his father retorted, lifting the Keyblade aggressively. "You are part of my story as much as I am part of yours but you were the one who took the opportunity I sought when all of the corridors opened in the storm. You _squandered_ it! You've returned here where everything is the same and you have nothing to show for it."

"I have so much to show for it, you wouldn't believe," Riku muttered. "You would have only lost yourself and then what? The things I have exist in more places than those that are right in front of me and in more ways than simple gain. If you've gained nothing then it's only because of your own selfishness. You haven't even asked…"

"Whatever I would want to ask from you, I don't need to know."

He lunged forward with the Keyblade. Riku's appeared with a flash. He flung Aram's weapon out of the way with ease, being much more practised with the sword than his father. Without thinking he went to strike for the heart, as he would for any other creature of darkness. However, the tip of his Keyblade struck the rock-hard abs of the guardian, appeared to protect his father. Riku leaped back before it could strike him down with clawed hands. Aram readjusted his grip on the Keyblade but before he could make any more moves a large portal of darkness appeared behind him. The guardian grabbed him by the shoulders, dragging him back into the swirling portal, even as his eyes widened and he struggled.

"No!" Riku cried out, rushing forward but the portal was already closing in. By the time he reached it, the last of it dissipated under his hand.

The world went still, holding its breath in shock. Riku breathed hard as he stared at his fist, still closed over empty air even after his Keyblade had left him. His heart pounded in his ears like it was screaming and his insides swallowed themselves with the guilty feeling that he'd failed. In trying to settle down and put things behind him he'd opened the path for something dangerous to travel freely. He had been so _wrong_ …

"Riku?"

Riku blinked and whirled around, staring at the woman who'd just appeared on the edge of the lawn with wide eyes. She only looked at him briefly but when she caught sight of the house her gaze stuck there in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped. "Riku, what happened here? Is everyone okay? Where are your brothers?"

"D-Dawn?" Riku whispered and then immediately looked away, ashamed of how his voice had shrunk. "I don't know where they are. It was like this when I got here."

"Well, we have to look for them!" Sora's mother asserted, running to the house and grabbing Riku's arm on her way. "What about Aram?"

"Dad… he…"

"Oh, honey," she cooed, stroking his hair she way she normally did to Sora's to make it lie flat, even though Riku's couldn't lie flatter even if it was ironed down. "Something terrible happened, didn't it?"

She didn't know the half of it. Rather than answer, Riku just looked away, a part of him still reluctant to speak about anything to do with his time away from the Islands, especially the darkness. Dawn sighed and patted him on the arm, leading him up the steps and into the mangled cage.

"It's alright," she said softly. "We'll look for your brothers first, then I'm taking you home."

" _Home,"_ Riku thought miserably. He'd rather be swallowed up by the earth than go anywhere called 'home'.

* * *

It was so dark by the time they made it back to Sora's house that they had to tread carefully despite the streetlights illuminating the way. Dawn held his hand the entire way, keeping a firm grip while he trembled in silent grief and rage. Sora must have been watching for them through the window because he flung the door open before they'd even gotten up the front step.

"You're back!" he exclaimed. "Riku, I need to—Riku?"

Sora glanced at his mother, who shook her head sadly and wordlessly gestured for him to move out of the doorway. Once they were inside she let go of Riku's hand and quickly crossed the floor to the dining table. Faja had paused in stacking dinner dishes and watched Dawn with a frightened expression on her face as if predicting that Sora's mother bore news she didn't want to hear. Sunni also stared at her mother curiously, pausing with the cutlery she'd collected still in her hands.

"Thanks honey," Dawn said, taking the cutlery out of Sunni's hands and just dumping it into the now empty pot on the table. "There's something I've got to tell Riku's mom, okay?"

Sunni understood that she was being shooed away and gave her mother a dark look, casting it at Riku for a moment before defiantly sliding the pot off the table and carrying it to the kitchen. Sora turned his gaze from them to Riku, noting the way he held his head down, making it harder to see his eyes through his curtain of hair than it already was.

"Riku, what happened?" he asked in a whisper, leaning closer while keeping an eye on their mothers. "Weren't you just at home?"

Riku swallowed thickly. "Yeah, but…"

They both jumped at the sound of Riku's mother walking away so quickly that her feet thudded on the wooden floors. They'd both been watching, even as discretely as they were. It was a testament to how tense they both were—Riku hadn't even realised it. With her head down they didn't see Faja's face before she turned her back on them to go up the stairs. Dawn followed after her at a quieter pace. Riku and Sora stood in silence, questions whirling in the space between them chaotically.

"Hey," Sunni cut in, startling them both. They looked at her coming to stand closer to them. She gave Riku a critical look, head tipped to the side slightly. "What's the matter with your mom and my mom?"

Riku's body tensed so tightly his whole body seemed to contract and lock up. Sora glanced at him and then gave Sunni a bright smile. "Uh, I think it's complicated?" he tried, scratching his cheek with a finger. "But if we make sense of it, I'll tell you. Promise."

Sunni gave him a sceptical side-eye. "I don't think you will," she muttered under her breath. Sora pulled back indignantly and was about to retort but before he could she said, this time a little louder: "Anyway, I was talking to _Riku_."

If Riku laughed he was certain he would cry at the same time. Instead he pressed his lips together tightly like a dam for his emotions. Sunni sounded so much like Kadaj in that snarky statement. The fragile way her shoulders rolled forwards indicated sensitivity but her face was smoothed down to a façade with acute perception peeking through her eyes.

"Well, if you're so sure we won't tell you later, then we're definitely not telling you to your face," Sora retorted.

Sunni harrumphed and turned on her heel, marching up the stairs. The boys watched her appear on the balcony and enter her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Riku looked at Sora.

"That was kinda mean."

Sora turned to him, flinching at the accusation. "Yeah, well, like… she's…" he stammered, flailing for an excuse. He'd felt so vindicated in his actions in the moment but the more he tried to look back on his interactions with Sunni the less he understood why. She'd been scarce in the past couple of weeks he'd been back and most of the things before then were fragmented and disjointed, sliding past each other like a mosaic of broken glass, looking for the correct places to fall. "Okay, never mind. I think you're right."

Sora rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. He glanced over at the dishes, left half-tided. "Maybe we should take care of things down here, huh?" he suggested, looking up at Riku again. "And since everybody else left…"

Even though he'd left it hanging, Riku nodded. He put a hand on Sora's shoulder and squeezed desperately like he was clinging onto a support that he was lucky to have there at all. Sora put a hand over Riku's, gently and reassuringly, then started to move towards the kitchen, Riku closely in tow.


	26. Sora's Sweet Memories III

"I swear I left it on the shelf in my room," Sora was telling Kairi on the way up the beach. They'd just left the play island and the sunset sky washed everything in orange.

"Hm…" Kairi muttered, fiddling with her hair while she tried to think of something when suddenly a pair of hands landed on her back and gave her only a teeny shove and yet she stumbled forward and almost dropped her drawing supplies. She turned around in annoyance. "Selphie!"

The sunny girl grinned, clasping her hands behind her back in false innocence. "Hiya, lovebirds."

Sora and Kairi both blushed vibrantly, taken aback. Sora ran a hand over his spikes and turned away awkwardly while Kairi spluttered: "W-w-what are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing~!" she sing-songed, twisting her body from side-to-side. "You two have just been looking close lately, that's all."

"Really?" Kairi gasped.

"We have?" Sora asked, giving Selphie a puzzled look. "Huh. It doesn't feel like anything's changed much, though." He leaned back with his hands folded behind his head. Kairi caught his expression out of the corner of her eye and her face fell.

"Then why act so bashful when I mentioned it?" Selphie giggled, tapping her nose. "I can always ferret out the love with my exceptional love-ferreting abilities."

"No you can't!" Sora protested.

"Yeah, that sounds dumb," Kairi said, even though her face was still pink.

Selphie gasped and turned away dramatically as if she was faint. "Such little faith in me! But mark my words, I know that the two of you are going to have a super lovey-dovey relationship one day. Anyway, that's not why I'm here." She looked at Kairi. "I was hoping you'd come with me to the school to help set up art club before the teachers all go on holiday!"

"That's not really important right now," Kairi replied folding her arms. "We can do that before semester when the teachers go back to school. Right now I'm helping Sora with something."

"Puuhhh-lleeesssee?" Selphie whined, clasping her hands and shaking them. "We should start on it now so that the teachers have to think about it for next semester."

"There's an art club at school now?" Sora interjected.

"We're hoping there will be," Kairi answered. "Last year the school rejected it in favour of helping the sports faculty start up the Blitzball team. Honestly, Selphie, even if we talk to them now they're going to forget about it come next semester."

"Then help me plan our angle of attack for when the teachers do go back to work!"

"What do mean 'our angle'? This is _your_ pet project."

"Aw, c'mon Kai'. You gotta help me! Otherwise it's just me all alone and nobody else is serious about it."

Kairi sucked in her cheeks thoughtfully. She and Sora exchanged looks.

"Why don't you go and help Selphie out with this?" Sora said. "I've still got Riku around; we'll be able to handle it."

"Well, if you sure about it then good luck," Kairi sighed with an air of defeated finality. "I'll come and see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded. Selphie excitedly cheered and dragged Kairi away by the elbow, calling over their shoulders to say goodbye to Sora. He waved to them and turned to walk down the road that led back to his house.

Going along the beach the dark water rolled into tiny barrels and crashed on the sand. The weather was fine but the sea was restless. Choppy waves sloshed and rolled around on the surface, churning viciously on their way back out to sea. Sora stopped along the road for a while and watched them. Turmoil underneath a clear and beautiful sky – it unsettled him for how much it paralleled with his impression of his life recently. Would things eventually smooth off or were the currents a preview to a storm that was about to creep over the horizon? He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking, head bowed in thought.

When he got home he lifted his head. The front door was closed and the step was deserted, this entire side of the house in shade while the sunset brightened the back. In the front window, behind the paint advertising her business, his mother diligently worked by her treadle only at the moment she was sitting back and hand-sewing some buttons. Out of curiosity, Sora made his way around the back instead, peering up at the windows. There was nobody else that he could see from the outside; the second storey rooms appeared empty. Sunni was no more than a spectre in his house for all he knew.

"Looking for something?"

Sora looked down abruptly and spotted Riku smirking at him from the bench on the porch. His new haircut still framed his face handsomely but his shortened bangs stayed clear of his face. Sora smiled. He'd just gotten used to that silky fringe draping over Riku's face and now most of it was gone, giving him an uninterrupted view of Riku's eyes again. Sora took his hands out of his pockets and went over to sit next to Riku, nudging him with an elbow. "Hey… how's it going?"

The smile fell off Riku's face instantly. They both went silent. Nobody needed to dignify that with a response; it couldn't be worse. Sora's thoughts went back to Mickey's letter, still rolled up in its bottle where he'd left it. 'A new great task ahead'… perhaps this was a sign of it. Were the journeys never going to end now because the darkness would always relentlessly try to swallow everything and anything? And they'd become tangled in the shadows all because they'd touched that stupid key. Sora looked up at Riku, who was staring out at the horizon with some determined resignation. He didn't like it but he'd do whatever it took to fix it.

"Sora," Riku said suddenly. "When The King wrote about those people – the ones he says are suffering – who do you think he was referring to?"

" _Do you think he was referring to you?"_ Sora thought but couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.

"I don't know," Sora replied with a shrug. "I guess we just have to go and find them to see who they are for ourselves."

" _I am who I am now because of them and now they're hurting… suffering. Is it because of me?"_ Sora wondered fearfully. Either way he was going to stop it. He had to, especially now. Even the idea that they were out there hurting and he _could_ stop it – he had that _power_ – gave him cause. Just leaving someone to hurt like that wouldn't be right and he couldn't stand it. His job would be to make it right.

The back door banged and rattled as it was shoved open (it often got a bit stuck in the frame), causing Sora and Riku to turn to it with a start. Sora stared at the large woman who stepped out but Riku's face settled into recognition and his lips set into a grim line.

"Riku," she said by way of a greeting, nodding to him. "And Sora…"

Her red eyes turned to him and Sora tensed, a cold, electric sensation surging through him at her thick scrutiny. It was like she was trying to see _into_ him, looking deep into his soul and searching for his timeline to gaze at his past. Sora felt like she could see everything he had ever done as if it was happening right in front of her in this very moment. His memories of her overlapped his vision and clumsy crayon sketches were drawn over and over her lines, merging with the real image as he tried to recall. He knew of her but words – written atrociously in childish crayon handwriting – were few and far between in his mind. But he remembered her somehow.

"Mama Khimri, what are you doing here?" Riku said. A little piece of Sora internally cheered with relief. Thank the worlds for Riku. Mama Khimri looked like sort of person from whom there would be dire consequences, no matter what the offence.

"Rude boy," she grumbled, finally taking her eyes off Sora to narrow them at Riku. "I came to talk to you. You and your mother, actually. She called in this morning and since I have the afternoon free I agreed to come and help her search the remains of your house."

"Or exorcise it," Riku muttered to himself.

"I'd be willing to do that too," Khimri said matter-of-factly. "Come, I need both your and Faja's help to search."

"Sora's mom and I already looked," Riku moaned, letting his head fall in dismay. "They aren't there anymore."

"Maybe you should look again," Sora suggested optimistically but with a sober tone. "Mama Khimri might have a different perspective—see some things that you couldn't, or that you missed." He put a hand on Riku's arm, forcing the taller boy to look at him. "It's probably too optimistic to say they might still be there (or pessimistic, depending on your perspective) but you could find something there that could help lead you to where they are."

Khimri nodded towards the inside of the house, both agreeing with Sora and demanding that Riku go with her. He stood up, legs feeling like hollow casts made of lead and filled with concrete. His own mind begged him not to go back there but he lifted each leg, slowly and as if it was an effort, walking into Sora's house. He didn't even look at Mama Khimri as he passed her. She followed Riku with her eyes and then briefly turned to Sora again.

"Long time no see."

Sora chuckled nervously, looking away. "Uh… yeah."

"I'd like to talk to you sometime. Obviously I'm occupied right now but later on if you're free tonight."

"Yeah, sure," Sora said, putting on an amicable smile even though he wasn't sure that he really wanted to. Something about this invitation sounded a little ominous in a way that he couldn't put his finger on.

Khimri nodded in satisfaction and entered his house, letting the door swing shut and hit the door frame. Sora rubbed his palms on his knees, for some reason they were beginning to sweat. A part of him panged empathetically for what Riku had lost but another side of him wasn't sure if he quite understood. Riku's brothers were gone. His father had been abducted by the darkness he'd opened up to. Bile threatened to rise in Sora's throat at the thought that maybe the same thing had happened to his father, only out of his sight yet that seemed unfathomable. As his memories corrected themselves like falling blocks slotting into place there was nothing he could think of – absolutely nothing – to indicate that his father might have taken that path. However, that defeated expression on Riku's face last night wasn't from losing his father; from what Sora could tell (and attempt to remember) they weren't close. No, Riku's devastation had come from the fact that he'd lost the ones that he'd gone back to rescue.

Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz… the names rang a bell but it felt like he'd heard them for the first time when Riku was talking about them last night. All of Riku's mixed emotions about them spilled out over the soapy sink until Sora thought that he was actually about to cry. Yet he'd held it back, powerful like a stoic tin soldier but if someone shook him something would rattle. Losing them had broken something inside him.

Belatedly, Sora realised that he had a sibling too, one that he hardly ever thought of. Sunni was hiding somewhere in the house most likely. All of a sudden the thought of her being swallowed into a pit of darkness – just standing there helpless as she was dragged into a swirling pit, thick like tar – invaded his mind and he couldn't hold it back. It sent a shiver of fear through his body, even though he didn't think he'd miss her if she disappeared like that. The entire time he'd been back she hadn't been very nice to him, not like his friends were. Then why did the idea of losing her hurt so much?

A blanket and a cushion were left on the bench, shoved against the arm rest at one end to be dealt with later. Sora pulled the blanket towards him and folded it up, placing the cushion on top. He lay down with his head on the cushion, looking sideways towards the horizon that had become a vertical line in his vision.

Something in his pocket jabbed his thigh. With a start, he reached into it to grab the object before it broke. He lifted it above his head and examined it. His sewing skills still left something to be desired, that's for sure but he hadn't done too badly at constructing his wayfinder. Three of the shells were blue but he'd ended up breaking the rest of the blue shells he had so he had to compromise with whatever was left. In the end, the survivors were a pink shell and a green one. He'd found an old, silver, heart-shaped pin to sew into the gap in the middle, just like Kairi had done for him with the crown. He even tried to mimic the way she'd drawn him into hers by putting her likeness on the pink shell, albeit with far less artistic talent.

Sora put it down on the bench beside his makeshift pillow. At the end of the day he hadn't worked up the courage to give it to her. It wasn't very good—he'd probably just embarrass himself if he passed that on to her. Besides, was it redundant to give a wayfinder to someone who'd already given one to you? That might be something to ask Kairi or Selphie the next time he saw either of them.

That vertical horizon entered his view again like the sliver between the doors he'd so often traversed through. Was there any way for him to put a hand out and press it against the wood, keeping it closed for good? And did he really want to do that anyway because otherwise how would he be able to get back anything he happened to lose from now on?

Drowsily, it occurred to him that perhaps there was a destiny implicit in those slightly ajar doors. He'd gotten back what he had before but he hadn't gotten back everything that had been lost… yet…

_It wasn't the first time it had happened but now it was starting to bother him. For the past week these mysterious bottles would wash up on the shore of the play island. Sora was gathering quite a collection of them in all shapes, sizes and colours in the treehouse. Sometimes there were several per day or there was only one but they always contained a rolled up letter (sometimes half scrunched)._

_Sora opened up the latest one and teased the paper out of it. He unrolled and unfolded it. It was similar to all of the others letters that came in the bottles – an assortment of really childish drawings, sometimes with messy letters spelling out (often incorrectly) messages to someone though Sora couldn't figure out who (whoever was sending these messages hadn't quite learned to write yet). However, something about this letter made him stop and do a double-take. There were three figures in this picture and even though the drawing quality was terrible he thought he sort of recognised them. To be sure, he rolled the letter back up and bottled it again to take back to the mainland._

_As he approached the beach he espied someone on the edge of the pier. Only a very small someone, though. He glanced at the bottle between his feet and then back at the child sitting on the pier and made a guess._

_For the moment, he steered clear of her, letting her watch the horizon vigilantly while he dragged his boat up the sand to prop it against the dunes. He turned around, bottle in hand. His insides tightened, fighting to simply leave or go to her but one of those options was always destined to win out with Sora. He couldn't let sadness be._

_He walked back down to the pier and crossed it, not even bothering to stay quiet. Even so, she didn't seem to hear him or she was ignoring him. He sat down next to her and she continued to stare into the horizon, set alight by the sunset, until he nudged her in the arm. Finally, she looked at him._

" _Hey, Sunni," he said gently. "It's late. Mom will be worried."_

" _Mom's too busy to be worried," Sunni replied quietly, turning away again._

" _That's not true! I think she tries hard for both of us. And she works twice as hard as everyone else because we don't have dad anymore."_

"You _don't have dad anymore," Sunni muttered, looking down to her toes. "I started sending letters to him and throwing them in the ocean so they'll wash up where he is and then he'll know that I want to see him soon."_

_Sora grimaced. "You mean this?"_

_He held up the bottle for her to see. She frowned._

" _Why did you take it?! It's supposed to sail across the ocean!"_

" _They didn't," Sora said, shaking his head sadly. "They've just been washing up on the island over there." He pointed to the little play island. "I don't think any of them reached him."_

_Sunni's bottom lip wobbled and her eyes began to glisten. "Don't be a liar. Some of them should have…"_

_Sora just shook his head, feeling as if his heart was being cleaved in half when Sunni sniffed miserably, scrunching up her eyes. "You're lying."_

" _Bottles washed up on the beach every day this week. Have you been writing all these letters every day?" he asked, pulling the paper out of the bottle. He unfolded it and showed it to her, even though there was no need to. The picture depicted a tall, curly-haired woman, a spiky-haired boy and an orange-haired, pigtailed girl._

" _I want him to see that he has a little girl," Sunni sobbed. "I don't know anything about him."_

_Sunni couldn't know anything about him, except whatever Sora and Dawn imparted. He was gone before she was born and everything that tied him to their lives quickly went after him: the piano, his music books, his work tools – everything of his that they couldn't use anymore, which turned out to be pretty much everything. Only the things that he had crafted for them remained._

" _I don't know what else to say," Sora admitted, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged. In this position he could easily be pushed off the edge. He looked down into the gentle waves, so lazy today that they only undulated calmly without breaking. Sora had tried before to do the things his dad had done for him for Sunni but she only seemed to resent him for it and lashed out at everything. He couldn't make sense of it so he just gave up._

" _Then go away," Sunni grumbled, lifting her feet to rest her heels on the edge of the pier. She hugged her legs, pressing her knees together. She sniffed and when she spoke again after a small pause her voice was choked and watery: "I just want to meet him too…"_

_Sora sat awkwardly beside her, looking anywhere but at her as she cried into her knees. Yet no matter how badly he wanted to he couldn't bring himself to just leave. She was weakened from the start and he had been strengthened by what she had never been able to have, so he couldn't just leave her. For the strong to hold up the weak… something just felt right about that. So he stayed, like a pillar for her to lean on while she crumbled._


	27. Riku and the Mayor

The atmosphere around them felt loaded as Riku and Khimri made the journey back to Riku's house but neither of them had any words to fill the silence. Riku trailed behind, only keeping up as much as necessary to not irritate Khimri and she only turned back every now and again to make sure that he wasn't dawdling. She didn't give him anything more than a cursory glance each time and only out of the corner of her eye so that he never saw the expressions she gave him, or even if she was making any. Privately, he was grateful for that. He briefly recalled that final battle with Xemnas, still not long ago and fresh in his mind. In particular, that moment when he and Sora were trapped in that dome of spears. As they fell there was no time to pause. They came down at a rate of several per second, his Keyblade swung so fast he barely registered it as anything more than a moving blur. Sora wasn't even on his radar. His focus darted to each oncoming projectile in the onslaught. His heart pounded so fast and hard that the sound of his own blood rushing drowned out the humming of those lasers and the _ding_ when they were deflected. The real threat was gone but as he dragged himself through a thick miasma of doom the feeling came back to him. Those orbs were hovering over him again from all sides and if anything pierced their field they would fall upon him. A single look of sympathy or pity, a word, a breath – anything would spell the end of his heart.

A sound jerked him out of his thoughts and his heart seized. He'd had a fright and stared but it had only been Mama Khimri's furs and belts catching the corners of branches and leaves in the underbrush as she walked through the space between them. Riku looked down at the ground. Khimri's skirt swept over a mosaic tile and some blue gravel. He gulped and put his foot down on the tile very deliberately, following her through.

In the light the house looked like the charred remains of a corpse decaying in the heat with all of the details of damage that Riku hadn't been able to see the night before. In fact, he swore they hadn't been there before. Something had returned to disembowel the premises further until it was an ugly thing of horror. The lawn around it was patchily burnt black and standing right at the edge of it were two pale figures, one very short and the other tall. They both turned around after hearing Mama Khimri noisily making her way through the underbrush.

"Ah, good," said the pale man standing next to Faja. "You'll know what to make of this, Khimri." His light blue eyes flickered over to Riku. "Are you sure you're up for being here so soon after?"

"I made him come," Khimri said curtly, not even pausing as she crossed the lawn to stand at the edge of the blackened grass on the mayor's other side. She ran the toe of her slipper across the charcoal, kicking up dust and ash. Something greasy and black bubbled a little. "Ugh… this isn't normal."

Riku took his mother's other side, aware of the mayor watching him intently, not even twitching at Khimri's remark. "I'm fine. This place just looks different in the light. Should we have brought Dawn too?"

"No, no, we'll do without her," his mother replied quietly, turning to him and grasping his arm delicately. "She's really busy, you know."

She sighed and turned back to the house, looking it up and down with a strained expression. "It's such a shame… this place that I could always return to is gone."

"It's okay, mom. Dawn invited you to stay with her—you can always return to Sora's house."

Riku's mother turned back to him, pain now evident on her face. "Riku… this was our life. Everything we had was here. Even…" she sobbed. "Even Aram and the little ones…"

She cupped her free hand over her mouth as she almost doubled over, gripping Riku's arm tighter. Carefully, Riku put his other arm under her, pulling her close and cradling her body as it heaved with sobs. He looked at the mess before him with a twinge of remorse but mostly with indifference. Everything that was important to him was no longer here – well, _almost_ everything. There was nothing of him left in his old room; this piece of his heart had been effectively erased and all the rest were scattered elsewhere: the play island, Mama Khimri's house, his friends and Sora. And he could even extend the chains of his heart outside of the world to other worlds, to DiZ, to The King, and – in his darkest hour – to Maleficent and Xehanort's Heartless. But here there was nothing. It was with a heavy sense of loss that he realised a chain had been broken.

"This is most ominous and unfortunate," the mayor said grimly, looking over the wreckage with his lips set in a hard line. "We've lost a lot here. The position for Minister of Knowledge and Chair of the Scientific Institute are suddenly vacant and will be difficult to fill now."

Mama Khimri made an annoyed clicking noise. "Aram doesn't know anything; both of those positions suited him ill."

The mayor sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You two didn't get along but try to be civil here," he said, discretely nodding his head at Faja.

Khimri shot him a piercing look. "Hiding from things to spare yourself pain does the heart no favours."

"I don't think I can do this," Faja blurted out, blanching. She wriggled out of Riku's loose hold and stumbled over to the edge of the lawn but she didn't leave. Khimri shook her head and went to Faja's side to console her. Riku glanced at the mayor but he was looking toward the house now.

"I have a feeling that you know something more about this," he muttered, seemingly talking to himself because he still wasn't looking at Riku. "Were you here when it happened?"

"What? All of this?" Riku asked, gesturing vaguely at the house. "No. It didn't look like this when I got here but it wasn't whole either."

The mayor nodded. "Something chewed away over time – a bit before you came and then more after you and Dawn left. However, I don't think you saw nothing."

Finally he looked over to Riku and the boy took a deep breath. "That's true… but I'm still not sure that I really understood it."

The mayor gave another one of those nods of acknowledgement. "This is such a terrible thing to happen so soon after coming back. I can't help but wonder, though, if you've seen this kind of thing before."

" _Well, not exactly…"_ Riku thought, casting a suspicious glance at the mayor. "What are you saying?"

"I just thought that while you're clearly distressed you don't seem that surprised. I spoke to Sora last week and while it sounded like he had a lot of good times while he was away some of them weren't so good. You were there, can you shed some light?"

" _Sora, you little…"_ Riku's inner voice rumbled, shaking its fist at Sora in spirit. "Why do you think I was there?"

"He said you were," the mayor answered, looking surprised.

Riku flushed. "Oh, well… yeah. Of course I was. I just didn't think he would… the point is, why are you asking me? Why don't you ask Sora?"

The mayor's brow creased. "I did. He said he was just homesick but I can't shake the feeling that there was more. He said he 'had' to go but if he didn't go with you and you didn't take Kairi, then why?"

"You don't think that maybe he just wanted to see more than what was here on these islands?"

The mayor chuckled and raised an eyebrow as if to ask: _"are you joking?"_

"Well, to be honest that actually didn't cross my mind," he admitted, looking up to the tops of the trees with a smirk. "That doesn't really sound like Sora, it sounds like you."

Riku huffed and looked down at the ground, scuffing the sole of his shoe across the boundary of the darkness, moving his foot from one side to the other. They stood together in silence for a moment until Riku realised that without a conversation he could now hear the low tones coming from his mother and Mama Khimri. And then abruptly the mayor started talking again:

"I feel bad admitting this but I wasn't shocked that you left."

Riku looked up at him, searching his profile.

"Even though we all had no idea how you'd disappeared I wasn't surprised and even a little relieved. I understand why you would have wanted to go. But Sora wouldn't have. It bothers me that I can't remember how you two left without your raft and why you didn't take Kairi with you."

"Is this out of curiosity or do you think that it all has something to do with this?" Riku snapped, pointing at the ruin. The mayor looked at him in alarm and Riku suddenly wished he could eat his words.

"Could it, though? I have no idea what has happened to you or between you while you were gone."

"You think something could have happened between us?"

"It's my best explanation for why both of your accounts of the previous year's events are so confused." The mayor smirked and Riku felt like a mouse that had been chased into a corner and the predator loomed before him, paw poised to strike. "Maybe you want to keep things a secret and I suppose that's alright but then I'd never get to understand. Who on this island did you think would hurt you if you told someone?"

Riku's blood ran cold and then welled up so hot that it was a struggle to keep any part of his body from twitching or lashing out. It was posed so innocuously but the answer was already there, left unspoken. The mayor had always refused to speak it.

The mayor's shoulders sagged and the smile fell of his face. It was like watching make-up melting off in fast forward the way his expression changed so dramatically that the shift showed in his skin. The hollows around his eyes seemed deeper and darker and his cheeks seemed sallower.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't speak. I don't feel like I've done a good job as a mayor by you, letting the things that I thought were 'bigger' determine my judgement. It's only as time goes on that I've started to appreciate how much more important the smaller things are and how much they really weigh." He turned around just as Mama Khimri was coming back followed by Faja dragging her feet. "Are you ready?"

"I am," Khimri answered, turning to Faja, who looked up meekly and nodded.

With that being all the permission she needed, Khimri lifted her skirt above her ankles and stepped onto the blackened part of the lawn, continuing all the way to the veranda. Faja followed her again, a little unsteady in the slightly-too-big sandals she'd borrowed from Dawn. Only slightly because Sora's mother had unusually small feet for someone of her height. Riku and the mayor looked at each other, Riku casting him an appraising look until he sighed and entered the dark zone after the women. Riku held back just a moment to take in the entirety of the scene one more time before he too took a full step over the threshold.

* * *

Walking through the house felt like walking through a carcass, with most parts of the roof missing and supporting beams sticking up and out of the walls like bones. There was an incredible mess like a hurricane had torn through the interior and everything was coated with a black substance of some kind: black dust, black mud, black grease, or even black scorches. Riku cautiously paced the living room, having no courage to go any further, wondering what could have caused it all. It didn't seem like it could have all come from the same source and yet it could have. The darkness was a strange beast and even though he had learned to control it he didn't know everything about it. He regretted for a moment; perhaps he should have learned more. But at what cost would that have come?

Shimmering sparkles floating through the air like motes caught his attention, dancing to the tune of Mama Khimri's shell flute being played unskilfully by his mother. The walls rippled uneasily with unnatural light but settled back to their original state. The sparkling motes dimmed too. The whistling began again and the motes lifted up again but the walls didn't ripple. Some patches on the floor and on the surfaces of furniture brightened from their darkness-stained state but that faded back to black quickly.

Mama Khimri came back into the room, still holding the hem of her dress well away from any of the black residue. Faja tailed her like a lost child, blowing a little conical shell. She lowered the flute, watching the fading magic with discouragement.

"This isn't working for me." She handed it back to Khimri and looked down at the floor. "I'm no good at magic."

"Keep trying, it'll come," Mama Khimri assured her but even as she said that she took the flute back. Faja's eyes had become weary and her feet dragged somewhat. "Riku, you aren't going to look around?"

Riku started at having been addressed. Mama Khimri crossed the floor towards him, carefully stepping over a piece of furniture so broken that it lay flat on the floor in pieces.

"I told you, I've already been through here with Sora's mom."

"But it was dark then."

"Isn't it still dark?" Riku said wryly. A resigned expression on her face showed him that she understood the joke too well. "Did you even find anything that we didn't already go over?"

She hesitated before shaking her head. "Not yet anyway. I did manage to find some samples to make a doll for each of the little boys – something might come out of that. In the meantime, you try this."

She held the shell flute out to him. He just side-eyed it until eventually she rolled her eyes and lifted it to her own mouth. "I'll weave the magic for you to get started."

She gently let her skirt fall and placed the mouthpiece under her lips, covering the finger holes while the fingers on the other hand covered the opening at the end. The sweet, high notes had a slight echo from the shell as Khimri blew, weaving a song through the house. The tune was mesmerising as if to be a beacon to guide something towards its source. The sparkling motes appeared again in a blizzard of light, dancing and rolling around in the air like they were being pushed by a heavy current. Riku watched them, entranced by their wavelike cresting and crashing.

The song's pull was so hypnotic that Riku felt its absence like a suddenly slackened rope when Mama Khimri stopped playing. She held the flute out to him expectantly while around them the storm of motes was already subsiding, leaving only a few of the strongest glows. Riku closed his eyes, searching for a good excuse to not try but came up blank. He took the flute from her outstretched hand and raised it to his lips, positioning his fingers carefully. It took him a couple of attempts to force a sound out – his mother was no good at this instrument and he was worse – but at the first noise he made the motes violently surged up and filled the room so densely that the three of them could barely see each other. Riku lowered the flute.

"Keep playing, Riku," Mama Khimri said from somewhere in the flurry of sparkles.

Riku hesitated but began to play again, as awfully as his mother did before. His fingers awkwardly covered and uncovered holes, breathing with sketchy success at producing a tone. He gradually got slightly better at producing notes and sounds so he started to try to string notes together. The magic motes jumped and spun about excitedly, creating a whirlwind. Then all of a sudden they funnelled up to the ceiling and down to the floor in equal measures and spread across the surfaces like a carpet. They crawled up the walls to coat them too and once everything was covered it shone out brightly. Almost as quickly as it shone it began to disappear. Riku frantically put the flute back up to his lips and tried to coax them into activity again but this time they didn't respond. The motes sank into the darkness covered every surface until the only light left was the fading daylight coming in through the ceiling.

In the aftermath the three of them stood utterly bewildered, even Khimri was gawking in disbelief. Riku stared at the flute in wonder for he'd seen the kind of magic Mama Khimri used often but he'd never actually used it himself. Faja clutched the back of Khimri's décolletage, warily looking around at the result.

"Riku, what did you do?" his mother asked.

Riku looked up to the two women and gulped. He awkwardly held the flute out to hand back to Khimri but she just stared at him in amazement.

"Even knowing what I do, I never imagined you would be this powerful."

Some of the darkness had been cleared, taking the eerie shapes of footprints and handprints. They criss-crossed the house and patterned the broken furniture with no discernible rhyme or reason.

"What are they?" Faja whimpered. "Are they the hands of demons? Did demons do this?"

"No, mom." Riku reached out to what he thought might have been their coffee table. There was a print of four fingers on the surface that he could see. He placed his own over them. They fit perfectly. "It's just me."

The sound of shuffling papers and the creak of damaged wood reached their ears and they all looked up to the hallway. The mayor appeared in the doorway, patting and sweeping some black dust of a small stack of documents and folders while a blackened briefcase swung from his fingers.

"Something really odd just happened," he said innocuously, staring pointedly at the shell flute that was still in Riku's hand.

Riku grimaced. "Sorry."

"Don't be, it was… interesting." The mayor looked down at the odd prints, brow furrowed.

"Did you find what you came for?" Mama Khimri interjected hastily.

"Yes. You?"

Khimri tilted her head from side-to-side. "Yes and no. I want a closer look at these prints but it's already dusk and I don't trust this place to be safe in the dark anymore."

"Then we should all go."

Faja let go of Khimri's dress, eager to follow the mayor as he left. Riku stared a while longer at his fingers fitting the print perfectly until the brush of Mama Khimri's cotton sleeve gently wrapped around his arm and urged him to stand up.

"Come, Riku. We've done all we can for now."

She pulled him away to the veranda, worriedly glancing at him out of the side of her eye when she thought he didn't notice.


	28. Sora and Sunni

Sora jerked awake when the door slammed its frame again. He sat up with a start and turned to the noise. The wind whispered across the veranda, rustling Sunni's clothes and pigtails as she came towards him. Warily, Sora noted the way her fingers were folded up in the material of her dress and while he didn't remember _exactly_ what that meant, it gave him an ominous feeling.

"Hey, Sunni… I haven't seen you in a while," Sora tried to joke, chuckling awkwardly. The dream he'd just had stuck vividly in his head – a memory, it couldn't be anything else if it was so persistent. Sunni frowned and lowered her brow, unimpressed.

"We talked last night," she said. Then she flicked the hair of her fringe with flippant movement of the head and adding airily: "but it has been a long time, in a way."

She sat down next to him, letting go of her clothing to lift herself onto the bench but taking it back up in her fidgety fingers almost as soon as she was settled. Sora looked at her while she looked down at her hands. Expectantly, they waited for someone who had the courage to speak up first. In the end it was Sunni.

"Somehow it feels like you haven't really been back, at least not to me."

Sora clasped his hands between his knees and looked at them guiltily. They'd talked, of course, but nothing meaningful. Aside from the conversation that almost started over the white clay doll they'd shared just the bare minimum of conversation needed to get them through the days.

"It also felt like you were leaving a lot sooner than you did," she continued and Sora turned back to her with raised eyebrows. "Mom said you were building a raft to sail around all the islands but you said you were going to travel to other worlds."

"It doesn't matter what I said," Sora replied dismissively. "Kairi, Riku and I were supposed to be teenagers but we acted like kids. The idea was stupid. _We_ were stupid."

"But didn't you do that?" Sunni pressed curiously.

Sora eyed her suspiciously. "Do what?"

"Go to other worlds."

"Why would you think that?"

"Where else would you have gone for a whole year? Where would you go on this world that isn't another island?"

"For all you know I did spend the whole year on-" Sora began but cut himself off. Sunni cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy, staring at him with his mouth agape as his face paled. "Why don't you believe me? You sound so sure…"

Sunni suddenly looked down and tapped the toes of her sandals together. "Well, it did say so in your book…"

Sora's stomach dropped but he had to be sure. "What book?"

"The red one," she said quietly. "It was all about you and your friends in other worlds. I'm sorry I stole it."

Sora just stared at her, very still but he was trying to keep the trembling down. It bothered him that she knew; he needed to keep it a secret to make things go back to normal. The journey was over so why wouldn't things go back to normal? The journey was over so why were there people out there who were still suffering?

Sunni shuffled away a little bit defensively. "I couldn't help it, it was different. Everything in your room stayed the same for a long time so when there was suddenly something different I got curious."

"How do you know what's in my room?" Sora asked with an air of incredulity.

"I've been in there a lot. It was strange when you weren't here because… I didn't really remember that you were supposed to be… except you weren't because you went away…"

It was just like with Selphie how the gears in her head were trying to spin on something that just wasn't clicking. It was like a glamour that stopped people noticing but only so long as they weren't explicitly thinking about it. Sunni put her little hands to her forehead and shook her head as though she had a headache.

"Something's missing…" she muttered. "That's not all though."

Sora sighed. He had to think of something to get her to drop it. "Sunni, it's nothing to get worked up over-"

"What was it like in other worlds?" she interrupted.

Sora's heart leaped. _"Shit, think of something. Anything. Something else… something she'll believe."_

"Sunni…" Sora began, with the mild exasperation of someone explaining something obvious to a child. "The journal isn't actually real. It's just stuff I made up – things that I wish I had been doing while I was visiting other islands."

She glared at him. "But you didn't write it."

Sora gaped. "What?"

"You didn't-"

"I heard what you said! Why do you think that?"

"It just doesn't seem like it was written by you. The words sound like someone else was writing it _about_ you."

Sora's blood rushed in his ears. He had to think. How could he dissuade her from realising the truth? The truth was powerful; it had ruined everything, destroyed the islands, separated him from his friends, destroyed Ansem: Seeker of Darkness, it had even almost destroyed him. From the inside. If she knew, would Sunni follow? Would she be curious if she thought the story in the journal looked so fantastical that it would be amazing to experience? How could he protect her from the things that happened to him and Riku and even Kairi?

It struck him: Kairi.

"Don't be dumb, Sunni. I totally wrote it. And I didn't go to other worlds. You should have noticed—Kairi's been here the whole time but in the book she's kidnapped."

Sunni looked away red-faced and teary-eyed. Sora felt a powerful spear of guilt at having done that to her but he had to convince her not to believe in the journal.

"Y-yeah, okay," she choked. "M-maybe that's true… okay, you're right. But what about when the islands were destroyed?"

"If that had really happened, surely you would have remembered it."

She dropped her head lower, almost curling up and folding her arms over her middle. She sniffled. "O-okay, but… but… how come I didn't get to be in the story?"

Sora's brow furrowed. "Why would I have written you in?"

"I don't know. B-but it's like… you wrote about Kairi and Riku, and even a little bit about Tidus and Selphie and Wakka but you didn't say anything about me and mom. It's like you didn't even miss us. Did you?"

"It's just a story," Sora tried to placate her but the words felt false bouncing off his tongue and not just because he was fabricating a journal of make-believe. "I didn't have to miss you and mom because I knew that I would be coming back."

She went quiet, only making sobs and sniffles for a while. Sora rubbed his palms on his pants awkwardly. He didn't know what to do about this. But then Sunni was suddenly done considering when she added:

"When you came home, you didn't talk to me for a while. It was like…" she searched for the right words. "It was like you'd forgotten I was your sister."

The statement felt like a punch in the gut and Sora couldn't recover fast enough. Sunni looked up at him with suspicion in her eyes. "You did, didn't you? I'm just not important to you, am I? I'm not important to anybody!"

She launched herself off the bench and ran down the length of the veranda away from him. Sora was frozen in shock for a moment but the situation caught up with him and he jumped to his feet suddenly.

"Sunni! Wait! Where are you going?"

"Away!" she shouted back over her shoulder. "Don't follow me!"

Sora debated whether the right thing to do was to stay or go after her. His feet felt numb. Was there anything he could do that wouldn't result in this hole getting any deeper? Thinking like this had never done him any good. In situations like these he'd only ever resorted to the most basic of two-pronged decisions – everything could be solved like that. He could either do or he could not do…

"Sunni… Sunni!" he called out, uncertain at first. "Wait!"

He ran after her.


	29. Riku Recalls

Riku looked up at the stars that had come out as he followed his mother and the mayor up the hill. Mama Khimri's belts and skirt clicked and swished close beside him like a reminder that he was still on the ground. He couldn't be drawn up to the sky. His mother and the mayor spoke in a light conversation that Riku blocked out to a dull murmur.

"When was the last time you visited the mayor's house?"

Being right beside him, Mama Khimri would not be drowned out so easily. Riku lowered his gaze to look ahead of him, scouting the path up the mountain first and then settling on the road before him. "It's been a while, not even counting the time that I was gone."

"Hm. It's strange that you've hardly been there. Kairi's a very good friend of yours, isn't she?"

Riku gave her a quick glare out of the corner of his eye. "We always met in a special place. Even if we weren't frequently visiting each other's houses, the quality of our time together was special enough. Besides, if I had started visiting her she might have gotten the idea that it would be polite to visit me in return."

Mama Khimri couldn't hold back a quiet chuckle. "I see."

They fell to silence again. It was almost unnerving, having a conversation with someone who understood you so well. So many words didn't need to be said but at the same time it felt like he was naked in front of her.

Sudden Khimri put a hand on his arm and squeezed. He looked at her curiously but she had her eyes pointed to the ground and a grim crease in her brow. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more this evening. I'll do my best to find your little ones."

"Don't be sorry." Riku shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Don't be sorry when I'm the one who feels like he should be sorry. You say I was powerful but I ended up being pretty useless anyway. It's almost funny now that I think about it; it's like everything else I try to do for anyone. I try to find them but then I end up only finding myself at the end and leaving the others to follow after. If only I hadn't been so selfish and did something sooner-"

"There's nothing you could have done to change this because nothing you did made it happen!" Khimri hissed, tightening her grip and forcing him to stop and look at her. "Your father's path is his own to follow. He may have brought this upon your brothers but you didn't bring this upon him."

Brothers. There was a word that had Riku squirming inside. He walked on, easily resisting Mama Khimri pulling him back. "We should keep going or mom and the mayor are going to turn around at some point and wonder what happened to us."

"Riku…?"

"It's just…" he began, wrenching himself out of her grasp. "I feel so bad. It's like I lost something really important to me – as if I lost Sora or Kairi – but I didn't even like them. Especially Kadaj, he's a horrible person. Why does this tear me apart so much?"

"It's love," Khimri told him softly, coming into step with him. "Love is different to all other things you feel because it isn't just an emotion; it's a bond. You loved them and that's wonderful. I'm worried, though, that you seem to think that is a bad thing."

"I never said…"

"You just did."

Riku pressed his lips together. Khimri just stayed silent, making it clear that now the ball was in his court. "I just hated always having to be there for them. I hated the fact that I _wanted_ to be there for them too. I wanted to leave but there were all of these reasons to stay that I just couldn't take with me."

"What changed?"

Riku looked further up the path again as the mayor's house came into sight. He smiled wistfully. "Kairi… and-" he faltered. He hadn't told her about that. He entrusted her with his knowledge of the worlds but not of the noble man who had given him the key. "Someone really cool to me," he settled on saying with a smirk.

Mama Khimri raised an eyebrow and looked at him askance.

"But even then it took me so long. And I think it's stupid every time I think about it but I got so worried about saying what I wanted. I was afraid that nobody would like my ideas or that if I left nobody would want to go with me. I wanted to leave but I didn't want to leave without people I loved; they had to be there too otherwise it wouldn't have any meaning. Then one day I managed to buff up the guts to tell Sora and Kairi and they thought it was great and wanted to come too. I was so happy that I could build my dream and take two of the people I loved the most with me. So I decided that the only ones I would ever need were them."

Khimri giggled, prompting Riku to frown. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that it seems there was a cute side to you that I never knew about."

Riku's face flushed and he turned away, embarrassed. Mama Khimri laughed again and patted him on the shoulder.

"I kept wanting things to be different," he continued, pretending that interlude had never happened. "Everything in this world is static. Even when I left and came back it hadn't really changed. That cool guy I met… and Kairi, they changed everything for me and when I changed it was pretty much like being a butterfly coming out of a chrysalis. I knew it was now time to fly and go someplace new but someone had placed a glass jar over me."

Mama Khimri nodded sagely. "You feared being limited."

"I don't know that I feared it, per se…"

"You despised it, though. And so you also despised all of the things that your glass jar was forged of, including the love you had for anything or anyone who wasn't going to take you to the stars you wanted to meet."

"When you put it that way, I guess I'm a jerk."

" _Was_ a jerk," she corrected, smiling mischievously when Riku glared at her. "You've grown a lot in so many ways. I don't know how much it will mean coming from me but I'm proud of you."

The smile that spread on Riku's face was so involuntary it was like someone had physically forced him to do it and he couldn't fight back. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

At the top of the hill just outside the fence surrounding the mayor's property Faja and the mayor were waiting for them to catch up. Some of the windows were already shining with light, which meant that Kairi must have been home.

"What were you two talking about back there?" the mayor asked in good humour. "Interesting conversation?"

"Most interesting," Mama Khimri replied, crossing her arms over her bosom. "I hadn't realised that we fell behind by so much."

Riku grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Whoops."

"Riku," his mother said in her usual quietness. "The mayor just invited us to stay for dinner. Is that okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he answered, uncertain as to why she was asking him. "I haven't been to Kairi's house in a while."

"She'll be pleasantly surprised," the mayor assured him. "Khimri, you'll stay too?"

She shrugged. "Why not?"

"But what about Lulu?" Faja asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, she's been spending nights at Selphie's place helping her with that 'art club' project she's so set on. That's where she went when I told her I might have to work late. I thought they were trying to get Kairi in on it too but apparently not?" She looked to the brightened windows.

The mayor gave her a bemused look. "It's the first I've heard of it."

Khimri waved a hand dismissively. "Never mind, then. The point is that Lulu's staying with someone else tonight, so I'm free."

"Alright then," the mayor said, patting his stack of documents and wiping some of the charcoal dust off them. "I'll tell Kairi you're staying and find a place to put these. She sometimes takes advantage of nights when I'm out late to be the cook so I hope she hasn't gotten a start."

He led them onto his yard though the gap in the fence where the gate should be. Faja turned to Riku, still with that anxious expression. "Do you think Dawn will be worried if we don't return?"

"She'll be fine," Riku replied. "She's usually busy all the time so I don't think she'll notice anyway."

"Oh… right."

He put a hand comfortingly behind her shoulder and smiled. She returned it with a smile of her own before turning to follow Khimri and the mayor into the house. Riku looked over his shoulder to cast a solemn gaze over the view of the town and then followed suit.


	30. Sora's Journal

Sora staggered to a halt and leaned on his knees, panting hard. Somewhere between the market street and the precinct where Selphie's family lived he had somehow lost track of Sunni. That should have been impossible. He was bigger and much faster than her and he had _trained_ on a great big journey around the cosmos for goodness sake! There was no way he should have lost her but he did.

Up above him the night blanket had already been swept over most of the sky, except for a thin bar over the horizon that was hanging on to the last of the light. He looked at it grimly from the beach. It was dark and he hadn't found Sunni. Their mother would be worried. Optimistically thinking, she could have just gotten tired of avoiding him and gone home. But if she hadn't Sora would have to face his mom and explain that he'd let his little sister vanish.

He could justifiably call it quits now. He'd gone all over the island looking for her after she disappeared and now that it was dark there weren't many other feasible places. His eyes scanned the ocean as he mulled his options and stopped on the play island. No, he had to tell himself. _Feasible places_. While probably not totally impossible it was highly improbable that she'd ended up all the way over there. She was too little to take a boat over there. At least that's what he told himself but a voice in the back of his head that sounded oddly like a gentler version of Kairi's reminded him that he'd been sneaking onto boats and taking himself across to the island at her age, even though all of the adults had disapproved.

He couldn't argue with that side of him but the thought made him grimace. How long had Sunni been going to the play island? The possibility became wedged and it was now far less justifiable to just go home now. He would have to search just one more location and then he could give up. He shook his head.

" _What am I thinking? Give up?"_ he thought as he ran down the beach to get a boat. _"I'm not going to give up on anyone."_

* * *

It was so dark by the time he reached the play island that he opted to beach his boat instead of tying it to the pier. There wasn't any moonlight to see by and he was glad he was even able to hit the beach without smashing into the pier or the deck or the palm tree islet. The sea was as black as ink and the island was in shades of charcoal and ash. Once the boat was safely out of reach of the tide, Sora turned and took a deep breath. He walked blindly, listening for any of the familiar sounds: the waterfall, the rustle of leaves, the creak of shifting boards. He also kept an eye out for anything that looked unusual, even though he could barely see.

The sound of water pouring into a pool got closer and closer until Sora tripped on one of the retaining walls and fell face-first. He lifted his head and spat out a mouthful of sand, gagging as he frantically tried to scrape it off his tongue and out of his throat. He spat as much of it out as he could and then sat up miserably. He'd only been here five minutes and this was the result. A flicker of doubt taunted his mind. What if the darkness had come to take Sunni? After all, it had already taken several pieces of Riku's family and now it was starting with his.

He shook his head of those dark thoughts. He'd only been here five minutes. _"Just think positive, something will come."_

A glimmer of light was caught in the corner of his eye and he turned to it immediately. Dim, yellow light bounced off the uneven, rocky surfaces of the secret place. It was barely enough to see by but Sora jumped up and crawled over to it, squeezing himself into the small entrance.

He watched that faint light bouncing like ripples as he crawled down the narrow tunnel, which seemed longer than he remembered it. The light was a piece of hope he could grasp. Images flashed in front of his eyes in time with the mesmerising light. They gradually coalesced into a single moving image. The bright blue eyes of a man with tan skin and light hair stared down at him, filled with life and love.

" _Dad, when is the baby gonna be here?"_

" _Don't worry, it's not far away." His father lifted the sheets up over his body._

" _And then I'll be a big brother like Riku and Wakka!"_

" _Yes. You will."_

" _I can't wait to meet my baby brother."_

" _It could be a sister," his mother piped up from the doorway. Her shadow stretched across the floor from the light in the hallway and her belly was swollen with a new life. Even with that small amount of light Sora could see her smiling at the two of them, yet he couldn't help but pout._

" _No! I want a little brother like Riku and Wakka. So that I can play with him."_

" _Oh? So what you're saying is that you're not going to play with her if she's a girl?" his father asked with an expression of mock surprise._

" _No, I'll still play with her!" Sora quickly replied, shaking his head. "But it'll mean that I don't have a little brother like my friends."_

" _But you'll have a little sister, which is something they don't have. Isn't that special?"_

" _Yeah… yeah, I guess. But I don't know how to be a big brother for a little sister. An-and I won't be able to ask my friends about it. How will I know if I'm being good at being a big brother?"_

_His father chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. "Sora, if you just do your best and love with all your heart, I'm sure you'll be the best big brother in the world."_

Sora blinked. The cave had opened up in front of him but he had lost track of the time he'd taken in the tunnel and wasn't sure how he'd gotten this far. The light was brightest in here, coming from a single oil lantern placed near the feet of a girl sitting against the wall with arms folded over her knees and her forehead resting on her arms.

"Sunni!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and scrambling over to her. She started and looked up. She began to unfold but Sora slid onto his knees in front of her and threw his arms around her. "I looked all over town for you! Why would you do that?"

Sunni growled and tried to twist out of his embrace. "Go away! I don't like you."

He abruptly let her go and she crawled away but stopped only a few paces away and then slouched, folding her arms tightly. Sora stared at her and swallowed down the knot of guilt in his throat. He tried to get a look at her face from where he was sitting but she completely had her back to him and the light on her back made the shadows in front dark.

"Sunni, I'm sorry." He bent forward and put his hands on the ground, pleading but also testing the waters. She hadn't recoiled from his subtle attempt to get closer, at least not yet. "I don't know how we got this far – for you to say that you don't like me with so much conviction – but I didn't mean for it to be this way. And I don't want it to stay this way."

"If you don't know then it doesn't matter anyway. Saying sorry only means anything if you know what you did and that it's wrong."

Sora abashedly smiled at those familiar words. His mother had said them often, especially when she was reprimanding. Deep in his memories, he thought he also heard them echoing from the past in his father's voice too.

"Yeah, yeah, I get that," he said, shuffling forwards until he was right behind her and then crossing his legs. "I wish I really knew what it is that messed us up so that I can apologise properly. Really, I do but… but then I went away for a long time and some stuff happened. To tell you the truth, I actually don't remember some of it myself and I don't know why I don't have those memories either—guess I forgot the reason for that too. What I'm saying is that my memories aren't as they should be, at least not yet. They're still repairing from the things that happened to me."

"Is it Naminé's fault?" Sunni asked, obstinately refusing to turn.

"I wouldn't say that it's her fault… I don't really know who she is but I get the feeling that she played a really important role during that time that I don't remember. Maybe I was supposed to thank her for trying to fix me when I got broken."

"You got broken?" Sunni said, finally turning around, posture no longer tense as she looked at him with a questioning but concerned gaze.

"Um, I guess?" Sora shrugged. He glanced at the lantern and the flame dancing inside. "To be honest, I don't know why that word came to me."

Sunni turned her body to face the light again and pulled her legs up, picking up her dress under her knees. She puffed her cheeks out thoughtfully. "Do you remember if it hurt when you got broken?"

Sora shook his head. "I just fell asleep. Although, I don't remember falling asleep either."

Sunni put a hand on his arm and tugged. "In your book it said that you woke up from a long sleep in a white room but it didn't say that you fell asleep. I was kind of confused. Is that where you lost your memory?"

"That sounds about right." Sora grinned. "Gee, now that you make me think about it, that memory is kinda troubling but up until now it was one my favourite memories: waking up and seeing my friends again after not knowing how much time had passed. Oh yeah, my two friends! I wish they were here for you to meet them. They're-"

"Donald and Goofy," Sunni finished for him. "They travelled with you because King Mickey told them too and then you guys all became friends."

"Eheh… I guess I don't have to tell you things like that anymore. You've already read the full story. How boring. I finally get to tell someone else about it but I don't have to tell them anything!"

"You could tell me other things. Like, what did you think about it?"

"What I thought?"

"Yeah. Because you didn't write the journal so it's all the thoughts of somebody else about you, even though you were the one doing all the cool stuff. So what were your thoughts about the adventure? Like, did you think Xehanort and his other people were pretty?"

Sora stifled a laugh. "Pretty? As in attracted to him?"

"I don't know. Do you think he was pretty?"

"Um…"

He paused to think about it but the more he did the less he liked where that train of thought was heading. "I would rather not think about it. Though I will say that I think that Xehanort was _pretty_ mean."

Sunni laughed at the pun. Sora giggled in relief. He'd gotten her to smile like that and that was something; a big improvement on the mess he'd made of everything before. Maybe if he could fix things here then he would know how to start to fix things for the others – the ones he hadn't met and who were suffering.

"Man, I don't even know what that guy's deal is, really," Sora admitted, speaking easily with Sunni for the first time in a long time. "Of all the villains we faced, he was the hardest to figure out."

"But he wanted Kingdom Hearts to destroy the whole universe, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah, on the surface that was what he was about and that was technically what he was doing so it was important to stop him just for that but I don't understand why he _wants_ to do that. He lives in the universe too, so wouldn't it destroy him as well? Maybe it didn't matter to him because he was a Heartless and later it turned out that he was also a Nobody, so he could have been immune to the total unravelling of the world as we know it but it still seems like a dumb thing to want."

Sunni just stared at him with her cheeks puffed up in a nonplussed expression. Sora was a simple-minded boy but even his limited understanding went over her head. "He's mysterious," she eventually muttered.

"Yeah… yeah, he really is. But now that his Nobody is gone he's not going to come back ever again."

Sunni smiled. "You saved the universe."

Sora chuckled sheepishly. "Aw, it was nothing. I didn't really do it to save the universe, after all."

He looked around the cave at the drawings illuminated by firelight. His eyes stopped on a particular pair of portraits that were on the wall between him and Sunni. She curiously followed his gaze to the picture. Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned.

"It was all for Kairi and Riku. Because they got mixed up in it and bad things happened to them, so I had to save them. When I found out what happened to them and who did it, it made me really mad. In the end, when the only thing left to do was to save the worlds from the bad guys, it wasn't being a hero that pushed me over the final limit. I just wanted to take Kairi and Riku and go home for good right then and there but I was so angry at them and how they didn't get it. Hearts are special and precious. So are bonds, like the friendship I have with Kairi and Riku. But they tried to break it and it wasn't even because they cared about us particularly. We weren't special to them because of who we were, it was just because of our powers and what we could do. Damaging us didn't matter so long as we could keep doing what they wanted us to do for them."

His hands curled into fists, taking up handfuls of cool sand and squeezing his eyes shut. "They blackmailed and browbeat and taunted and they didn't even care about how much it was hurting us. And that's why I fought them. Because they weren't sorry so I wanted to hurt them as much as they hurt us even if it wasn't in the same way. I just wanted revenge. And if it saved the worlds then that was good too but that didn't matter to me as much as payback. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty selfish."

Small, warm fingers brushed over his cheeks, wiping away tears that had started flowing freely. He opened his eyes and Sunni's face was so close, eyebrows slanted and her large eyes shiny. "You're not selfish," she whispered, wrapping her little arms around him. "I think I'm selfish but you're not."

Sora arm's encircled her, bringing her close for a tight hug. His tears wouldn't stop, even when they pulled away from the embrace and he tried to wipe them on the back of his hands. Thinking about all that he'd been through was hard in a way that he hadn't expected. Not thinking about it was so much easier. Hiding it had seemed like a necessary precaution to stop others from mimicking their folly but now it was obvious that the only thing hiding had accomplished was making it easier for him to forget about it all. The journey had been long, the stakes had been high and the consequences had been heavy. Sometimes he had barely survived it. In hindsight it now looked like a miracle that he'd ever made it home at all.

"Tell me more about your journey," Sunni said. Sora sat back against the wall again and crossed his legs to make a comfortable seat for Sunni to sit in. "Not about Xehanort anymore, tell me other stuff about other things, like all of the good people you met."

Sora wiped his eyes one more time and smiled down at her. "Man, Sunni, you really know how to pick your questions. I don't even know where to begin with that one; I made so many new friends on my journeys."

Yet somehow he managed and he talked for hours into the night. At some point they moved away from the wall to lie in the middle of the cave and look up through the hole in the ceiling at the stars around the branches of the island's giant tree while Sora talked about all of the worlds he had been to. He had no way of knowing the time but when Sunni began to yawn and her eyelids drooped it was a sign that it was definitely past their bedtime. But he didn't stop for that. He took off his jacket to drape over her shoulders and let her use him as a pillow while told her not just what he knew but what he thought. His voice lulled her to sleep along with the beating of his heart pushing blood through his veins. Before he realised it, he was falling asleep as well.


	31. Riku and Kairi

Riku leaned out the window with his elbows resting on the frame as he looked out over the town. The houses that looked so little from up here had light glowing out of their windows like tea candles in the dark. He looked down at the road just outside the fence where the mayor stood with his mother and Mama Khimri. He passed a lantern to them, already blazing with a guiding light. Khimri took it, just as his mother looked up to the house and Riku thought her eyes met his. He smiled and waved to her. Even by the light of the lantern he saw her smile spread and she waved back. If she were Sora's mother (or even Selphie's, or Wakka's) she might have yelled up to him reiterations of the farewell sentiments they'd already exchanged in the mayor's kitchen: stay safe, be good, take care, all of that. But that smile that was bigger than the reserved one she usually gave was more than enough love for Riku to appreciate.

"Why didn't you want to go back with them?"

Riku turned around as Kairi was coming back into her room with a futon, a spare pillow and some bedsheets in her arms. She dumped them off to the side of her room for now and came over to join him on her bed. He turned back to the view as she peered out the window at the two figures leaving in the lantern light.

"I just figured it would be a little crowded at Sora's place tonight," he answered with a shrug.

Kairi hummed thoughtfully in response. "Your mom is really nice, just letting you stay over like this even though you sprang it at the last minute."

"You mean indulgent."

"No, I mean nice." She gave him a playful shove and giggled. "Honestly, I thought dad would give you a harder time than that."

"A harder time than saying yes?"

"I thought he'd want a bit more persuasion… I also thought he'd insist on you sleeping on the couch." They both laughed at the suggestion even though it could still be a very real possibility.

Outside, the mayor returned to the house after seeing the women off, satisfied that his help was no longer needed. Once he was out of sight Riku asked: "Hey, why _didn't_ you tell your dad the truth about what happened?"

Kairi groaned and dropped her head on her arms. "I thought I told you."

"You did but… let's just say I'm not satisfied with that answer any more."

Kairi turned to him with an annoyed look but didn't lift her head. "Why? Did something happen?"

"Yeah… a lot's happened," he said, turning away from the window and leaning against the wall beside it. "I tried to keep it a secret and it was futile. Now my main reason for telling no one is gone. I'm worried, Kairi. My father could do dangerous things with the power of the darkness, not to mention the kinds of horrible things that could happen to my little brothers. But saying nothing didn't stop it from happening. So, why didn't you tell your dad you went to another world?"

"I didn't _go_ to any other worlds, I was _taken_ there!" she snapped, sitting up suddenly. "There's a difference. But you wouldn't know because you never had to go anywhere you didn't choose, even when you were being a butt thinking the darkness was the answer."

"A butt?" Riku giggled at the word choice.

"You were such a butt." Kairi flopped onto her bed and rolled over so that she was staring at the ceiling. Her hair splayed across her sheets right next to Riku's thigh. "If I told my dad that something that terrible happened to me and he could never keep me safe I don't know what would happen. But I do know that it would hurt him. It might actually hurt him more if I told him that I now kind of know where I came from. Then he might think that I'd have to leave. I don't want to put distance between us by telling him that there's a home for me somewhere else… with other people in it… waiting for me…"

"We can still go. With the Organisation gone there's nothing out there to be afraid of anymore. We can do it right this time—remember our plan to go and find your world? I won't make the same mistakes. I'll stay with you and Sora and we'll do it together."

A pained expression crossed her face but she put it away almost as quickly as it came. "I don't want to travel the worlds anymore. I just want to stay here with you and Sora and dad."

Riku gingerly touched her head and stroked her hair, threading his fingers through it all the way to the ends. "Me too. But I can't help but wonder if that's going to be enough anymore. The darkness followed me home and took my father and my brothers. What if it follows us forever?"

Kairi's warm hand covered his. He looked down to find her looking up at him with sympathetic eyes. "It's okay. You let go of the darkness. It's not your fault that your dad invited it into his own heart."

She sat up and Riku marvelled at the way her tresses slipped through his fingers like water. "You're hard on yourself, Riku."

"I need to be. Otherwise, who's accountable? Xehanort? He's gone. It almost makes me angry because he got the easy way out."

"You're so caught up in blaming yourself that you're starting to hold yourself responsible for things that aren't even your fault," Kairi told him, reaching up to stroke his hair and stopped at the feathery ends that had been neatly slashed off. "Aw, I was getting used to seeing you with really long hair. I kind of miss your old hairstyle already."

"And same to you." He smiled and she laughed but really, it had been a bit of a surprise for him to see her again after all that time with her hair grown out that much. For all his life he only remembered her having short hair and now it was almost as long as Selphie's. "We've changed a lot, haven't we?"

Kairi stayed silent for a moment but her smile fell. "Sora hasn't. He's always been the same old goofball."

Riku laughed as some of Sora's sillier antics came to mind. How did he manage to do that after all that _he_ had been through? "I hope so. He'll need that since this is the end for him."

"It's the end for _us_ ," she corrected.

"No… I wanted it to be the end of the line for me. I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life now that I've been out there and seen the bigger world but… I have to find my little brothers. I can't just leave them to whomever or whatever took them. And as much as I hate the idea, I need to bring my father back here too. He might ruin something otherwise. This might be a good thing, though; I could take care of the people in Mickey's letter while I'm at it, leave Sora out of it for a change."

"You make it sound like you'll be doing it on your own," Kairi pointed out worriedly.

"I don't want my friends in danger again."

"Well, did you think that maybe your friends don't want their friend in danger either? Whatever happens this time, Riku, we can all do it together." She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight against her and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Don't leave us again."

Riku sighed and slumped, letting all of his tension dribble off him as he moulded himself into her embrace. "We might not have a choice…"

"But until then, don't even say it. Just stay here and live it up until the worlds catch up. We deserve it, don't we?"

She suddenly picked up one of her pillows and shoved it onto Riku's head, pulling one end down to cover his face. He laughed into the fabric and easily yanked it out of her grasp. He swiped at her but she was already rolling off the bed and hit the floor with a _thud_ , laughing at him.

"Missed!" she taunted, scrambling to the other end of the room while Riku picked up her other pillow.

"Oh, now you're gonna get it. Get ready for a double pillow barrage!"

He leaped off her bed, making it all the way across her room to land right behind her. Kairi abruptly stood up and threw a sheet off the spare bedding pile over him. He dropped both pillows to grab it and pull it off but the moment it was off his face he was plunged into the dark again by a pair of pillows. Kairi's laugh tinkled through the room as he stumbled backwards in alarm and landed on his behind. She lunged for him again, pillows at the ready. Riku waited for the perfect moment and then flicked the blanket over her head. She squeaked. He clamped his arms around her and rolled over, gently pinning her to the floor. She squirmed as hard as she could but only managed to shake her head free.

"Give up?" Riku grinned. Kairi poked her tongue out at him. "Looks like I've underestimated you."

The door slammed open, giving both of them a fright. Their heads turned, their minds instantaneously conjured images of some dark monster barrelling through the door with the Shadows creeping around under its feet but their hearts calmed at the sight of Kairi's father standing in the doorway, glaring at them. His eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

Kairi and Riku glanced at each other and then down at their bodies. Kairi chuckled awkwardly and answered: "Nothing, just playing."

"Right… don't mess around up here."

He turned and left, pointedly leaving the door wide open. His footsteps still carried into the room as he went down the hall and then headed downstairs. Kairi and Riku glanced at each other again and then burst out laughing. Riku sat up, letting Kairi push the sheet off her and sit up as well. She sighed.

"See? Don't you miss this?"

"You have no idea," Riku muttered, pulling in deep breaths to calm down. He crossed his legs and leaned his head on his hand, elbow propped up on his knee. He couldn't see many stars beyond the window since the bedroom light was still on but as the night crawled on the town would steadily darken, awakening the sky further.

"We're just teenagers, we're not The King's soldiers," Kairi said solemnly. "It's not fair for him to be sending us letters like we're going to be summoned."

"Some things can't be helped," Riku shrugged. "We're some of the very few who understand the universe as it truly is, so they need our help. We can't wait for our vacation to be over."

Kairi put a hand on his unburdened knee and squeezed. Riku turned to her but he couldn't see most of her face behind her bangs. "Okay, then… just don't lose sight of what's important."

She stood up and went to put the sheet back on the pile. Riku went back to stargazing at what little he could see until she came back. After that the rest of the night was quiet and sombre with Riku wishing that he had just accepted Kairi's words, even if it meant swallowing back the truth.


	32. Sora's Sister

"Sora…" someone sang to him from just beyond the edge of his dreams. "Sora, wake up."

Something jabbed him in the head. His snores ground to a sudden halt and his face screwed up. He wet his dry mouth and wiped the drool away as he opened his eyes. Blue sky and green leaves waxing in and out of focus greeted him. He titled his head back. A redheaded girl in pink looked down at him with a cheeky smile and a long stick poorly concealed behind her back.

"Kairi…?" he murmured.

"Morning, sleepyhead." She giggled.

Sora grunted in his sleep-haze. It was okay. It was just Kairi and they were on the play island and judging by the sky it was a beautiful midmorning. His eyes snapped open wide. "Uh-oh… I was supposed to go home yesterday!"

He shook Sunni. Her face scrunched up in irritation and she opened her eyes just a squint. "Sora, what're you doing? Jus' lemme sleep…"

"Sunni! We have to go home!" Sora exclaimed, sitting up quickly and dragging her with him. "We left mom at home alone and didn't tell her where we went!"

Sunni groaned and sluggishly pulled herself into an upright seated position. Sora leapt to his feet and turned to Kairi, giving her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, we should split. But I'll be back later, promise."

"And good morning to you too," Kairi said, a little miffed. "Take your time, by the way. Mama Khimri apparently showed up at your house last night while your mom was panicking and divined that the two of you were here and okay, so your mom isn't going ballistic. But she's still a bit worried. She asked me and Riku to tell you to come home."

"Right… Riku's here?"

"Yeah. He had to come with me because _somebody_ – not saying who – took his boat in the middle of the night." She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'll tell him sorry on the way out," Sora said over his shoulder, ushering Sunni through the tunnel. He let her go first since she would have a much easier time getting out. "I'll be back later."

He squeezed through the tunnel. By the time he'd made it out, Sunni was already standing up beside the waterfall, blinking in the sunlight and clutching Sora's jacket around her shoulders. There was no activity on the beach; the four of them were the only ones there. The wind was calm and the sea lay flat, only lapping lightly at the edge of the sand. Sora gazed upon it sadly. It looked desolate—missing something that had come to be a part of it. They used to play a lot here with all of their friends, filling it with voices and laughter and wooden weapons clashing. Without that the silence gaped across the beach like a gash with a hollow breeze blowing through. The bright light of the sun couldn't cover the fact that the island was missing its joy this morning.

Riku sat on the edge of the pier with his back to them and even as they approached he was so far away in his solitude. He looked over his shoulder as Sunni jumped into his boat. Sora grinned and shrugged.

"Hey, Riku. You don't mind that I, uh, borrowed your boat, right? Do you mind if I borrowed it again?"

Riku snorted and small smirk showed up on his lips. "I suppose not."

Sora pulled the little boat closer to the pier and dropped his feet in to anchor it while he untied the moorings. "Thanks. And sorry for almost leaving you stranded."

Riku waved a hand dismissively. "Just make sure you touch base with your mom before you come back."

"Right. You saw her before you arrived?"

"She's on the pier waiting for you. At least, she was when we saw her. Either way, it's not a good idea to make her worry any longer than necessary."

"No need to tell me twice," Sora said, throwing the rope over a post and slipping into the boat fully as it gradually started to float away from the pier. "Back later, 'kay?"

He put his arm up high and waved, much too exaggerated for the small amount of distance between them. Riku chuckled and waved back until Sora sat down and took up the oars. He put some distance between them and when they were halfway between islands he paused, causing Sunni to look up with a questioning expression. His hands held the paddles just above the water as they drifted and Sora looked back to the play island.

"Hey, how did you get to the island?"

"I saw Wakka at the beach," Sunni replied with a shrug. "I said I wanted to go see you and he took me on his boat. You obviously weren't there but I said I'd wait. Then I hid in the cave."

"Is everything okay?" he asked quietly, turning to look at Sunni.

Sunni blinked. "Y-yes. Why?"

"It's just… you were really quiet this morning. I thought that after last night, since you seemed to feel better, then… did I do something wrong?"

"No." Sunni looked away with a pout.

Sora's brow creased as he studied her. Memories rushed through his mind like flipping pages of the few times he had brought Sunni to the small island with him. "Sunni… do you hate Kairi and Riku?"

She huffed but offered nothing more than that. Sora frowned. "Why?"

"I didn't say anything!" Sunni whined.

"You didn't need to, I can see it on your face," Sora retorted. The baleful look on her face made him reel back and take a deep breath. "Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just don't get it. And I don't want things to be weird between us anymore so can you just tell me what's wrong with my friends?"

"You don't listen to me," she said as quietly as the wind.

"What?"

"I said: you don't listen to me!" she yelled, throwing her arms up and hitting the sides of the boat with her fists. Sora's jacket slipped off her shoulders and fell into the bottom of the boat. "It doesn't matter if I hate your friends because you like them more than me anyway! I always told you that Riku was a bad friend and I was right. It was in the journal; he turned evil."

"Come on, that's completely wrong," Sora argued. "Riku made a huge mistake but that doesn't make him bad. I know there's a real reason."

Sunni suddenly hid her face behind her knees and hugged them tightly. Sora sighed exasperatedly and continued rowing back to the mainland. He'd only done a few strokes when he heard her muffled voice but it was almost drowned out by the splashes of the paddles. He stopped rowing again and looked at her.

"Come again?"

"I said: I want to be your friend too," Sunni repeated, not much louder than before. "You love them a lot but you didn't play with me as much and… I'm always alone."

"Don't you have friends?"

"I have friends! That's not what I'm talking about! You spend so much time with them but you hardly ever spend time with me. I bet if I had a dad he wouldn't let me be alone every day."

Sora's heart beat painfully. He put the oars up. Sunni lifted her head up just a little to peek at what he was doing and her eyes were reddened and watery. Sora reached across the boat to pull her into his lap and held her tightly. "I think… I think I get it now."

Sunni didn't reply but she did shift in his arms to a more comfortable position. Sora squeezed her again once she was settled.

"While I was trying to get closer to people like Kairi and Riku I took for granted the people who were already closest to me. I thought we'd always just love each other because we're family but it looks like that's not how it really works. I… Sunni, I feel about you in ways that I don't feel about Kairi and Riku, I just want you to know that, okay? I mean that, even if I've been forgetting to tell you for all this time."

Sunni put a little hand over one of his and relaxed. The sea around them shimmered with the light of the sun as it warmed the air around them. They let the boat drift for several minutes to savour the familial bond under the sun.

* * *

When they got back to the beach there was nobody on the pier. Sora and Sunni exchanged odd glances tinged with worry as Sora brought the boat in. He dragged it up the beach after Sunni hopped out, leaving it by the rest of the boats on the dunes. She was already running up the beach in the direction of their house. Sora picked up his jacket, wrinkling his nose at how damp it had gotten at the bottom of the boat. He followed her path up the beach but at a walk.

By the time he got back home Sunni had already long disappeared inside. Sora hung his jacket over one of the clotheslines strung between the rafters on their veranda. He ambled up to the back door, not bothering to look through the windows before he went inside. Strangely, Sunni was chattering animatedly and that made Sora look up. His mother wasn't sitting at her sewing machine but he could see her head over the back of the sofa. Sunni bounced on the balls of her feet while leaning on the sofa arm.

"No but it's actually way cooler when Sora talks about it," she gushed to her mother, who was giving her a baffled look.

"When I talk about what?" Sora asked. His family looked at him.

"Sora!" His mother stood up, having to catch herself as she stumbled from the abruptness. She stared at him with a look of horrified panic. Her face had paled but not from seeing him. However, Sora only barely noticed that, dread sinking in him when he saw the book she had open in her hands, the one with the red cover.

"Mom, what're you doing?!" he screamed, dashing to the front of the house to snatch the book out of her hands.

"What am _I_ doing? What were _you_ —Sora!"

She reached out to grab him. Her fingers only brushed the back of his shirt and then he was gone, racing up the stairs to his bedroom. She followed him as fast as she could but the door was already firmly shut by the time she got up the stairs. She slid to a halt in front of his room and grabbed the doorknob but to her alarm it didn't turn. No matter how hard she pushed, twisted or shook it the door didn't budge. She banged on the wood as hard as she could.

"Sora! Sora, open this door! How did you even _do_ this? This door doesn't have a lock! Sora!"

Sora breathed hard, heart racing as he stood in the middle of his room staring at his door. A great keyhole of light was emblazoned across it inside the magic field that kept it locked. Ripples appeared in the barrier whenever the door was hit but nothing his mother could throw at it would break it. The Keyblade disappeared from his right hand and he lifted the other to look at his journal. He threw it onto his desk and then flopped onto his bed, burying his face in the pillow. His whole body ached from some reason. He folded his arms under his pillow as he shuddered from the chill in his chest conflicting with the heat in his veins. He wasn't ready for this. All he could think of was how he wasn't ready to tell his mother about everything that had happened while she had been blissfully unaware.


	33. Riku's World

The boards creaked under Kairi's feet as she crossed the bridge and came to stand next to the paupu tree where Riku was sitting, as usual. She netted her fingers together while she and Riku watched the sun begin to set in the late afternoon. The island's only other visitors had been Tidus and Wakka doing their (ridiculous, in Riku's opinion) freediving exercise for the day. They paused for a breather and struck up conversation with Riku and Kairi. Tidus mostly bragged about Blitzball to nobody's surprise but did make a concerted effort to enquire about Sora. Aside from that, they did have some fairly useful gossip about what was happening in the rest of the town generally. Wakka even brought back some messages from Selphie and Lulu about the art club, which Riku hadn't heard of yet and was actually rather curious about. However, their respite was quick and after resting up through that round of small talk, the Blitzballers decided to race each other back to the main island. That left Kairi and Riku alone for the rest of the day.

"You know, I never used to think that there could be so much going on in such a small world," Riku piped up, prompting Kairi to look at him and come closer to better engage the conversation. "And yet somehow it's still so little."

"It feels trivial," Kairi supplied, lifting herself onto the trunk. "After seeing all the worlds and knowing that it's possible to make decisions and do things that will affect all of them, these things on the island don't seem to matter."

Riku nodded. "Here we can only affect each other. Even the biggest decisions out of the mayor's office – things that affect the entire island – don't even reach the cosmos. Nobody can hear our voices except us."

They sat together quietly, listening to the waves rolling over the surface of the sea. Kairi glanced at Riku and noticed that he wasn't watching the sunrise but rather gazing towards the main island. She looked out at the sea over that way.

"Sora hasn't come back," she said worriedly. "Should we go back and see if he's okay?"

Riku nodded. He hopped off the tree trunk while Kairi slid off and they both returned to the pier. As they made their way across the beach he stopped for a moment and turned around to look back at all of it. For all that he complained of its smallness there was something so nostalgic about observing it, like looking at a portrait of their childhood. This island that had once been so rustic and restrictive to him popped out vividly in colour and shape. He took a breath, savouring the air along with the view before he resumed following Kairi.

* * *

On their approach to the mainland Riku spotted someone on the pier and straightened up to scout better. She sat with her legs dangling over the edge and her skirt gathered between her knees. When she looked up from the water she waved to Riku and Kairi as they were coming in.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Riku asked.

She just smiled at him but gave no answer, not even a hint. The hairs on the back of Riku's neck prickled. That smile was the bland one she had always used to mask bad news. "I'm fine. Did you two have a good day?"

Kairi and Riku looked at each other.

"Um, yeah," Kairi replied. "It was as good as any other, I guess."

"I'm glad you still have fun like this even as you're growing up," Faja said and this time her smile started to reach her eyes. "A lot of things lose their joy as you get older because we forget about the things that made them joyful. But it's getting late now, isn't it? The mayor might worry if you're gone too long after dark, Kairi. And it's quite a long walk from the beach."

Kairi opened her mouth to argue but Riku cut her off:

"Yeah, we should all be getting home."

She looked at him with a confused expression but he was staring at his mother worriedly. He turned to her and shrugged apologetically. "Sorry to leave like this. I'll help you bring the boat in first."

Riku helped his friend bring the boat in all the way to its place by the dunes. Then she reluctantly left, waving to him and his mother even though the gaze she cast towards them was sceptical. Once she was well on her way and out of earshot, Faja looped her arm around Riku's.

"Say, we haven't played on the beach in a very long time," she remarked in a way that wasn't quite innocuous. "When was the last time we had a family day on the beach?"

"A really long time," Riku replied, tasting the memory bittersweet on tongue. "Kadaj was a baby. Dad wasn't there. But there isn't enough time left today for that kind of thing. If that's what you want we could come back the day after tomorrow with Sora's family."

"There's time for a little walk, isn't there?" she said, pointing down the beach with the hand holding her shoes. "Let's go down to the rock pools. We haven't been there in a long time."

Riku frowned as an uneasy feeling came over him but he agreed anyway. The entire length of the beach was deserted by now. The setting sun threw their shadows onto the dunes, walking side-by-side and alone. The foliage on the dunes got thicker as the beach became rockier until they were stepping carefully over a rocky outcrop that disappeared under the branches and leaves of the jungle plants. Faja stopped to sit down on a boulder beside one of the larger rock pools and peered into it.

"Oh!" she giggled. "Look at all of the little creatures down there. They're so colourful and pretty."

Riku crouched down to look as well. The pool was teeming with organisms that had congregated to escape being beached at low tide. Starfish, sea cucumbers, snails, sponges and tiny fish mingled surrounded by waving tendrils of algae and seaweed.

"I wonder," Faja murmured, "if they ever realised that there was another world outside their little pool – a bigger one, with an island and an ocean and even more rock pools just like theirs. Or are they oblivious to everything above the surface, only ever understanding what's inside their world."

Riku's shoulders tensed. Slowly, he turned his head to look up at her. "Mom?"

She dabbed her lower lashes with her knuckles, lightly smudging the black lines. They were bolder than usual and carefully constructed into a new design that Riku wasn't familiar with. However, there was seemingly no reason for this—the only place she would have gone to was her workplace. So she was anxious.

"You were gone for a year," she sobbed, covering her mouth and speaking into her hand. Her voice barely came out louder than the quiet splashing of waves against the rocks. "I missed you so much and… and I gave up hope that you were going to come back. I-I sort of thought that… you'd done what you said you were going to do; that your raft carried you away t-to some other world where you were lost or-or dead. I was just beginning to accept th-that… that you were gone forever a-and I would never know… never know… what happened to my son. But today I… I saw… D-Dawn showed me what I always sort of thought w-was true. You ran away. You ran away with the darkness and even Sora had trouble finding you."

"Mom, no!" Riku exclaimed, standing up abruptly but he was almost pulled down by the weight of the dread in his pit of his stomach.

"Why not?! Riku, I…" she sniffled, unfolding a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbing away at her eyes and nose. "Maybe I'm too small. I think too small so I'm happy to stay small and live in a small world. In my small dreams I don't even wish for wings to fly with or consider that the stars are something that I could fly to. I just stay in my small world to be content with all of the small things I have. Like my boys…"

She hugged herself as tears rolled down the slope of her nose to drop into the rock pool. Riku stared at her and swallowed thickly. He was getting that feeling, the one that he hated and had always hated, now for a different reason than he used to. He felt lost.

"So… what do you want from me?" he asked lamely.

"Nothing, I…" she took a deep breath. "No… I want something. I want you to stay with me. Don't leave me or I'll… I'll have nothing."

Riku moved slowly around the boulder to sit on the other side but instead of looking to the pool he looked up, panning the horizon until his gaze landed on the play island. "I can't really do that. When I went out there I started something and now I'm obligated to help it get fixed."

"But you aren't obligated to me at all?"

His throat tightened. His mother sighed and shook her head. "I know I'm being selfish. You're bigger than me now, in many ways. You have been for a while. There's nothing I can do to stop you doing whatever you feel the need to do. At the very least could you let me know that I won't lose you like I'm losing everything else?"

Riku wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, side to side. "You're not selfish. I'm selfish. I was the one who tried to run away without thinking about how that would affect anyone else. I made my decision because I was angry and bored and stupid. You just love me. And I don't know if I even have anything that I could give you in return for that love because I was terrible at giving you love back. I'm so ineffectual. There's nothing I could do to redeem myself except follow The King and Sora and hope that I never lose sight of the light again."

Faja put a hand on his arm. Her warm, feather-light touch was almost magical in its delicateness. "The king of where?"

"It's… actually, it's not that important where he came from. But I'm indebted to everyone unless I can help him save them. I think I'm strong enough but I don't know if… I don't know if I can do good if I go out there again."

"Tell me who the king is and what he's the king of. Tell me that you're strong enough to go where he leads you and that you'll come home."

"If all else fails, I'm strong enough to survive," he said with much more certainty than he thought he had, "and I'll come back here in the end."

She leaned into him and breathed a shuddery sigh into his shirt. "I don't care about what you did so long as you know better now and use that to do better. Whatever happens, promise me that I won't have to lose you."

"I promise…" Riku choked. Inside he had so many more promises he wanted to make. He promised to be a better person. He promised to be a better son. He promised to defeat the darkness not just in himself but in his father. He promised to bring back their little ones. He even promised to protect her small world so that it would never be lost again and no matter what more he found out there he would return over and over and over again. He promised to call it home.


	34. Sora's Promise

Sora kept his door locked for the rest of the night, ignoring anything that came through. Dawn kept coming back and knocking loudly but he didn't hear the sound of the sewing machine in between those events. She gave up after failing at bribing him out of his room with dinner. Not even Riku was comforting enough to coax him out. He kept his activity to a minimum, not even turning on the lights when it got dark and flipping through his journal using only the light of the crescent moon to read by, which meant that he couldn't read a thing. The pages were doused in dim shadow so that all he could see was vague squiggles forming lines and shapes.

The house had been quiet for hours when the growling and cramping in Sora's stomach became too painful to bear. He closed his journal and left it on his bed before getting up and summoning the Keyblade to deactivate the magic lock on his door. He opened his door just a crack and peeked out. It was dark. Taking that to be a good sign, he pushed the door open a little more and stepped into the loft hall. To his right, his mother's bedroom door was open but it was dark in there too. As he passed Sunni's room it was firmly closed and there was no light or sound coming under the door. He crept down the stairs, dodging the ones that he knew to be creaky.

Once he'd slipped into the kitchen he whispered a Fire spell to light up the fireplace. Electric lights would have been easier but they were bright and would feel too conspicuous. On the bench above the cutlery drawers a ceramic bowl sat wrapped up in dishtowels and with a pot lid on top to keep warm. Sora unwrapped it. The bowl was still warm to touch. He got a spoon from the drawer and then slid down to the floor with his back against the cupboards, watching the fire while he ate miserably. His mother had left this here for him even after how he'd treated her that afternoon (he knew it had to be her, Sunni wouldn't have done it and Riku wouldn't be so mindful).

It was too warm to be sitting in front of a fire for long. Sora put his empty bowl back on the bench, on top of the dishtowel so that it didn't make any noise. He doused the fire with Blizzard and then stepped outside. He didn't hear the quiet squeak of the couch as the person sleeping on it was roused and since he'd already left he also didn't hear the stairs creak as they crept upstairs.

A fresh sea breeze blew across the veranda from the ocean, coolly caressing his skin. He closed the door slowly behind him and stood there for a while until his eyes had somewhat adjusted to the darkness. As small as the light from the moon was, he could still see by it. The movement of the waves rolling onto the beach and the sway of the palm fronds were all caught in his vision. And even though he knew that the powers of darkness and light were bigger than anything that could ever possibly occur on the Destiny Islands, it still stood out to him as a perfect and beautiful metaphor of hope. In the darkness there would still be a little light, just enough to see.

He pulled the hammock down from the hook and climbed into it, lying back and leaning his head to the side to get a good look at the moon beyond the veranda roof. Sora imagined it like a tiny white flame on the wick of a candle, cutting through the dark defiantly. Beyond and beside it the stars were like embers offering the last of their light to keep the path lit.

The door clattering against its frame loudly startled him into sitting up. He turned to the door. Dawn stood there, hunched over sheepishly and staring at him wide-eyed. She hadn't been able to catch the door before it swung shut. She smiled awkwardly and straightened up, smoothing down her pyjamas just for something to do with her hands.

"It's late, Sora. Maybe you should be in bed," she said, a meaningless remark that got caught in the pregnant pause that followed.

"D-did I wake you?" Sora asked. He looked away, throat suddenly dry. "Sorry."

"No, no, you didn't wake me. You woke Riku. He came upstairs and woke me up. I saw you found dinner."

Sora looked at her curiously, brow lightly creased in confusion. Riku had woken up and didn't come to talk to him? Why did he go straight to his mother?

"Yeah," Sora forced out. His throat felt like it was closing up. It was only a matter of time before they stopped tiptoeing around the elephant in the room but he still wasn't ready. "Thanks."

"Sora…" Her footsteps on the wooden boards approached but Sora didn't look her way until she touched his arm – a sudden patch of warmth on his cool skin. "Move over. You're taking up all the room."

She squeezed into the side of the hammock. He didn't stop her and they gradually shifted this way and that until they could comfortably lay side-by-side with Sora's head resting on Dawn's collar. From this angle they could both look up at the moon. They watched it in uncomfortable silence for a while, despite Dawn's attempt at lightening the mood. She started to comb her fingers through his hair, still feather soft and yet they sprang straight back up as her hands passed over them.

"Sora, sweetie," she said softly. "You can talk to me, okay? I'm not angry at you."

"I know," Sora replied, embarrassed by the crack in his voice. He shut his eyes but all he saw was the horrified face of his mother from that afternoon. "I'm not afraid of making you angry or getting in trouble."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

Sora quickly realised that he'd accidentally given away too much. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore, at least."

"Yes it does." Dawn lowered her head. Her face was close enough for Sora's locks to tickle her nose and cheeks. "You were gone for a year. A whole year without a trace and I didn't realise it at all. I didn't know where you were or even _who_ you were; I thought I'd never even had a son. Yet your room was still there and even without you in it, it still contained all of _you_. The entire time you were gone I had dreams of some little boy in my life – recurring dreams with the same little boy every time – that seemed so familiar, like I'd lived them and yet when I woke up I struggled to recall anything about them. I thought I was becoming deranged. Something strange happened the day you came back too. The moment I saw you I felt… okay at first. I was just okay, even though I knew that you were gone for so long in my head it seemed like you were still within reach while you weren't here. But when I tried to remember where you went… there was nothing. It felt like your arrival should have been expected and yet I knew that it wasn't. I didn't expect you to return, I didn't even expect you to exist. Do you know why that happened?"

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "Not really."

"But at least a little bit?" Dawn asked hopefully. "What did you need to 'thank Naminé' for?"

"I think…" Sora began, struck by how confused he was himself about this now that he was trying to explain it in the simplest terms. "I think I was supposed to thank her for me being able to exist. I kind of… lost something and because of that I stopped existing to other people. She fixed that. I don't really know how but… I don't really want to know, actually. I'm glad I'm home and I want to stay."

King Mickey's letter burned a hole in his heart as he spoke. "Yet at the same time, I know I can't. The cosmos outside this world is really, really big. When Kairi and Riku and I were building our raft I just thought that maybe there were one or two other places out there, like other islands that had never been discovered but it was so big. I couldn't even… I don't even know how big it actually is. More and more stuff just keeps appearing out of it and now that I've seen it I can't not see it anymore. I thought I'd just bring my friends back and then it would be over but it just keeps demanding more and more and more from me. Stuff that I've never heard of and people I've never met are suddenly connected to me and I don't know why but I don't even know if I want to know. I thought it was over but it seems like it's not."

"It's okay, sweetie," his mother said soothingly, pulling him close against her at an uncomfortable angle but her hold was too tight for him to squirm out of. "You don't have to do all of that. You did all you could and brought Riku and Kairi home safe and sound like you wanted, that's all that matters."

"No, you don't understand," he said, voice slightly muffled against her skin. "I _need_ to finish this. The more I've been thinking about it the more I realise that everything is still at stake. I lost my home, I lost my family and I lost my friends and I brought them all back but… but the thing that took them away is still out there and it can still take it all away again. It can probably be stopped once and for all but it's got to be me somehow. It's connected to me so maybe if I reach out to those others out there who are still hurting I can find out why and make sure that the darkness won't come back and take anything from anyone."

"But you'll leave again!" Dawn startled him with that outburst and curled around him. "And I'll be here the entire time afraid that you won't come back. What if you stop existing again? What if you try to cut your own heart out again? What if one of the bad guys is finally able to kill you? I don't want to lose my boy again; I don't want to lose any more family. You're so brave and strong, Sora. What you've done is amazing and it was good, I understand that but wasn't all of that enough? Why can't it be someone else's turn now so that I can just have my son here within reach for the rest of my life?"

Sora shoved a little bit of distance between them so that he could breathe easier before he replied: "It doesn't work like that… or maybe it does but all that means is that it's _my_ turn. It's still my turn. Believe me, I understand how you feel about losing me; I feel the same about losing everybody else. But this is why I have to do this. You probably think that all that stuff in my journal sounds scary and dangerous and it is but it's worth it. I've done it twice, I know I'm strong enough to do it again and I'll live. I'll do more than just live, I'll fix everything and then I'll come back home and we can be like this for the rest of our lives – just hanging out on the veranda, watching the moon and the stars. Once it's all reconnected, it'll be perfect, just swinging life away here forever."

"But Sora…" Dawn sobbed, sniffing wetly, "even if you say things like that, I'm still afraid. The future's unknown and… and… you're my son! I love you and I can't just let you go like that."

"Mom, please!" Sora cried, pushing so hard against her that he almost threw them both out of the hammock. He looked up at her angrily with so many things to yell at her ("Why can't you just understand? You read everything, you know everything! Why won't you see how important this is?") but all of them died in his throat. His face softened at the sight of her wet eyes and damp cheeks. She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "Can you just trust me? I know what I'm doing by now. I'll be working hard to right all the wrongs but at the front of my mind the thing that I'm aiming for will always be returning back home."

Before he could think about it, he raised his right hand, pinkie finger outstretched. With this gesture he would set it in stone, not just let it linger in his words, no matter how sincere. "I promise."

Dawn stared at his hand for a moment. Then she unwound her right arm from the embrace she had him in and linked fingers with him. They both looked at their entwined fingers, lifting them up to be silhouetted by a backdrop of stars and the waxing moon. A promise to be held and to be kept in their hearts.

They fell asleep with their fingers still intertwined.


	35. Epilogue

Riku folded his arms, looking down at the pair in the hammock with an amused smile. They looked so comfortable like that, he didn't want to wake them but the sun was climbing higher in the sky. Coming to a compromise, he nudged the hammock gently to set it swinging. If that didn't wake them then he would leave them be.

They both stirred at the unexpected movement. Sora's eyes opened slowly, looking around in confusion at a location he wasn't used to waking up in. He got a glimpse of the blue sky and looked across the veranda roof before his eyes settled on Riku and widened.

"Riku!" he exclaimed, sitting up all of a sudden and rocking the hammock. That shook Dawn to more alertness as well. She rolled over as much as she could and stared at Riku blearily.

"Morning, Riku…" she muttered. She looked around sleepily but when she saw the blue sky and sunlight she gasped. "Oh shit! Late morning!"

In her rush to scramble out of the hammock she caught her foot in the fabric and the entire thing twisted around. Riku grabbed it to try to save the occupants but it had tilted far enough already for both of them to tumble to the floor. Dawn grunted in pain when Sora landed on top of her and he groaned, winded by an accidental elbow jab. Riku awkwardly glanced between them and the empty hammock in his hands before letting it go and crouching down to help them up. Sora waved him away as he crawled off his mother but Dawn gratefully accepted a hand up.

"Thanks, Riku," she said, rubbing her forehead where she'd hit it on the floor and a red mark that promised to turn into a bump had appeared. "Sora, are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Sora wheezed, getting to his feet.

"Good, that's a relief." She sighed disappointedly. "Riku, why didn't you or Faja wake me up earlier?"

"You looked peaceful," Riku said with a shrug. "My mom always worries that you overwork yourself, even when she wasn't staying here."

"But the orders!" Dawn huffed.

"Mom," Sora said, standing up on the other side of the hammock. "I know you have deadlines and stuff but I think Riku's right. You might just be _a little_ crazy about your job."

She pouted indignantly. Riku added: "We don't want to stop you working, just chill out a little. Mom made breakfast and put some aside for you."

Sora's mother put a hand over her belly and the rumbling it was making, as if just noticing that she was hungry. "Right. I'll eat and then I'll have to get right back to work. Oh dear, how much work am I going to have to catch up on?"

She brushed past Riku on her way inside. The boys watched her leave in silence and didn't turn to look at each other until the door had swung shut. Sora twisted the fabric of the hammock in his hands and after several seconds of keeping eye contact Riku looked away awkwardly.

"So…" Sora began, "sorry I woke you last night."

"It's no big deal."

"You didn't have to wake my mom. She freaks out if she oversleeps."

"I had the feeling you needed to talk to someone after you locked yourself in your room for hours."

"Then why didn't _you_?" Sora snapped, glaring at Riku like he'd just been betrayed.

"I thought this would be better," Riku explained. "Don't you feel like… like you finally got what you needed?"

Sora didn't reply at first. He worried his lower lip and looked down at the patterns in the fabric. Talking to his mother had been so hard, like every word he tried to speak was being dragged back into his throat and lodged there to choke him. Afterwards he felt raw and exposed, chilled by the knowledge of his mother's feelings about his adventures and his duty. But something about it was also nice.

"It feels like," he croaked, throat suddenly dry. He swallowed. "It feels like the air is a little clearer, there's less to be afraid of now that I can talk to my mom and my sister about what my life is like when I'm gone but… I feel awful still."

"Awful?"

Sora nodded. "It's awful. There's just another promise that I have to keep, on top of every other promise. What if I can't keep it?"

"You'll do the best that you can," Riku told him, reaching across to put a hand on his shoulder. "You've kept promises to me and Kairi that were harder to keep."

"Riku, I… I don't want to do this anymore," Sora admitted quietly, hanging his head. "Somehow I… these islands are so small and yet…"

"I know. These islands are so small and yet now they suddenly look bigger than before." Riku looked out but kept his gaze close, focussing on the nearby palm trees, the dunes and the sand on the beach, the grass on the ground and the little birds in the saltbushes. "There's a lot we didn't see here, hidden under the surfaces so we took it all for granted too easily. It's surprisingly a lot to come back to." He looked at Sora out of the corner of his eye to see him nod quietly. "Is something wrong?"

Sora let go of the hammock and walked away, jumping off the veranda to the ground. He lifted his eyes and kept them steadily fixed on the island out to sea. The morning sun set the sea sparkling like a cushion of glitter for that special place. His feet tingled with every step he took, even when he stopped just behind the foliage of the dunes. Riku's footsteps crunched the sand and grass behind him until he was so close Sora could feel the warmth of his arm radiating against his.

"I thought I would just be afraid of making them worry," Sora confessed. "That if they knew anything I would always be dogged by the burden of their fears. But that burden turns out to be heavier than I thought it was. _I'm_ afraid for _me_ now too. Like I've absorbed the doubt and the fear, I don't know if I can do what I need to do to make all of this right. These mysterious guys The King wrote about—I have no idea who they are or how long they've been waiting for someone like me to free them. Where do I start?"

"Who knows?" Riku sighed. "I guess we'd be the only ones with any clue, right? As long as we're patient, we'll see the right signals and we'll know."

"We?"

"Of course. Because we won't ever be alone. Even if we're far away from each other, we've become connected. Those people are also unwaveringly connected to you—we have more connections than we even knew. As long as you're willing to keep them, they won't ever leave."

Something sparkled on the little island. Sora blinked. It could have been a trick of the light but he had a suspicion that it was special. A warm breeze blew across the beach and around him like an embrace from the world and the rustling from all of the leaves spoke to him like a comforting voice.

" _The world is cheering for me,"_ Sora thought, smiling at the whimsical thought.

He walked up to the crest of the dune before him where the wind was highest. Before him the sea rippled endlessly and behind him was the village on the grassy plains, as well as what he couldn't see hidden in the mangroves and the jungle. He raised his arms and closed his eyes, letting the wind carry his heart. The time was coming and when it did all of the hearts he'd ever touched would lift him up, he was sure of it now, invincible in the face of the darkness because the light would carry him forever. His heart thrummed.

"You have important things left to do too, right, Riku?"

"Yeah. The wrong I've done stung deeper than I thought. People were hurt by mistakes I made, even so long after I made them."

"So you're not giving up?"

Riku smirked. "No way."

"Then let's not hold back."

The world had returned in full clarity – its heart, its soul, its body and his memory of it. Right now, he thought, he could see clearer than he ever had in his whole life. He wasn't afraid to be the hero anymore. His whole life behind him pushed him to his future. The Hero of Light was ready.

**.**

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**THE END**


End file.
